











Si. 





LIBRAJBY OF CONGRESS. 

B>-^^^ — — 

Chap. Copyright No. 

Shelf....\iA4- 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



i 



VC/ of '<^f 
VI/ 

Cbaractcr yj/ 




I 



Traits of Character 



ILLUSTRATED 

IN 

BIBLE LIGHT 

TOGETHER WITH SHORT SKETCHES OF 

Marked and Marred Manhood and Womanhood 

BY 

H. F. KLETZING, A. M. 

AUTHOR OF "PROGRESS OF A RACE" 
AND 

E. L. KLETZING, A. M. 

PRI^XIPAL IN CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS 



PUBLISHED BT 



KLETZING BROTHERS 
Naperville, III. 



PR 301898 



"Books should to one of these four ends cond 
For wisdom, piety, delight or use." 



^^^^ 



Copyright, 1898 

BY 

HENRY F. KLETZING 
A/l rigJits reserved 



SOLD ONLY BY SUBSCRIPTION 



TO 

OUR MOTHER 

Whose Christlike character and self-denying life have 
been the molding forces in our lives, this 
volume is affectionately 
inscribed 



THE AUTHORS 



III 



Earth holds man}' wondrous scenes caUed temples, battle- 
fields, cathedrals, but earth holds no scene comparable for 
majesty and beauty to a man clothed indeed with intellect, 
but adorned also with integrities and virtues. — Newell Dwight 
Hilhs. 

Be noble; and the nobleness that lies 
In other men, sleeping, but never dead, 
Will rise in majesty to meet thine own. 

— Lowell. 

Invincible determination and a right nature are the levers 
that move the world. — Pres. Porter. 



IV 



PREFACE. 



Truth is much more forcibly impressed upon the 
mind whiCn accompanied by ihustration, either in inci- 
dent, anecdote, example or in a drawing or picture. 
Where the mere statement of truth in the abstract may 
fail of results, the illustration comes to the aid of truth 
and impresses and fixes the thought upon the mind. 

In the following pages we have attempted to combine 
the two ideas. While the picture impresses the truth in 
one way, the printed page by example, figure or anecdote 
adds power of retention and increases the amount of 
truth conveyed. We lay claim to no originality of 
thought further than the manner of arrangement and the 
method of conveying the trtith to the mind. 

Realizing the inspiration that noble deeds give to 
many a life and the advantage gained in noting the causes 
of failure, we have added short and striking biographies 
of prominent men and women. 

The sidelights are truths mo^stly illustrated in lighter 

vein. 

THE AUTHORS. 

April, 1898. 



V 



'Chisel in hand stood a sculptor boy, 

With his marble block before him; 
And his face lit up with a smile of joy 

x^s an angel dream passed o'er him. 
He carved that dream on the yielding stone 

With many a sharp incision; 
In heaven's own light the sculptor shone, 

He had caught that angel vision. 
Sculptors of life are we as we stand 

With our lives uncarved before us. 
Waiting the hour when, at God's command, 

Our life dream passes o'er us. 
Let us carve it, then, on the yielding stone, 

With many a sharp incision; — 
Its heavenly beauty shall be our own; — 

Our lives, that angel vision." 



CONTENTS 



PART I 

PAGES 

Traits of Character, Illustrated . _ - - 8-207 
PART II 

Marked Manhood and Womanhood _ _ _ . 208-309 



PART III 

Marred Manhood and Womanhood . . - _ 310-341 



PART IV 

Sidelights 342-363 



VII 



8 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 



Character Building. 




MAN^ CHIEF BUSINESS IN LIFE. 

A wise man is strong.— Solomon. 
CHARACTER. 

"One ruddy drop of manly blood the surging sea outweighs." 

The truest test of civilization is not the census, nor the size of 
cities, nor the crops; no, but the kind of man the country turns out.— 
Emerson. 

Better not be at all 

Than not be noble. —Tennyson, 
My road must be through Character to Power; I will try no 
other course, and I am sanguine enough to believe that this course, 
though not perhaps the quickest, is the surest.— Canning. 

God created man in his own image, hence manhood 
is an ideal, and in as far as man fails to exhibit the God- 
like in his character does he fall short of true manhood. 
The highest object of life is the possession of a good 
character. The foundations of civil security, the 
progress and civiHzation of nations depend upon in- 
dividual character. Character is powder in a much higher 
sense than that knowledge is power. 



CHARACTER. 



9 



How have the truly great attained to the honored 
positions they hold? Not by rank, for many were of 
lowly birth; not by wealth, for the niheritance of not a 
few^ has been poverty; not by talents, for many v/ere 
not men of genius in this respect. Force of character 
rather than any of these has frequently made men of 
moderate powers to surpass the brilliant and wealthy 
even in the competition and jealousy of public life. 

Wc say money is power, but character is power 
in a truer sense. 

Jefferson once said that not a throne in Europe 
could stand against W ashington's character, and in com- 
parison with it the millions of the Rothschilds looked 
ridiculous. 

Wellington said that Napoleon's presence in the 
French army w^as equivalent to forty thousand soldiers. 

Of John Hall it was said, "The man behind the 
sermon is the secret of pov/er. 

Benjamin Franklin attributed his success as a pub- 
lic man not to his talents or his powers of speaking, but 
to his known integrity of character. 

The personal character of Alexander T, Emperor 
of Russia, was said to be equivalent to a constitution. 

Success depends more upon wdiat you are than 
what you know. 

Character, not ability, elected W ashington and Lin- 
coln to the presidency. 

A man who has lost his character may weigh as 
much and know^ as much, may be as wise and as zealous, 
may have as much property and as prominent a station 
as before, but his influence for good is gone forever. 
Men cast him out as worthless. Character is everything 
to a man. That gone, and there is no place for him in 
the universe, 



10 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




I am the Truth.— Jesus Christ. 
TRUTH. 



Truth is the backbone of character. Nothing is 
beautiful or strong or permanent without truth. All 
qualifications that go to make up noble manhood count 
for naught where there is not a persistent adherence to 
truthfulness. As the mirror reflects objects as they are, 
without alteration, so truth presents everything as it is. 
God's word is the great mirror of truth. He who would 
know himself as he is, must frequently observe himself 
in the light of this mirror. The mask of hypocrisy is 
here thrust aside. Before this great and accurate mirror 
it is possible for every man, whatever his qualifications, 
to measure up to the full stature of noble, royal. Christian 
manhood. 

Francis Horner of England was a man of no extraor- 



TRUTH. 



11 



dinary talents. He died at the early age of thirty-eight 
more truly beloved, trusted and admired than most men 
of his time. The secret of his success was not in wealth, 
or rank, or genius, or eloquence, for in none of these 
did he stand out prominently. Men on all sides sur- 
passed him in these qualities and attainments, and yet 
he will be nobly remembered when the more nobly born 
and favored will have been forgotten. The secret lies 
in Sydney Smith's statement that Francis Horner had 
the ten commandments stamped upon his forehead. 

Thackeray says: "Nature has written a letter of 
credit upon some men's faces which is honored wherever 
presented. You cannot help trusting such men; their 
very presence gives confidence. There is a promise to 
pay in their very faces which gives confidence, and you 
prefer it to another man's indorsement." 

Who make up the really great men of any age? It 
is those who have truth woven into every fiber of their 
being. 

During the American Revolution General Reed was 
offered a large bribe bv the British if he would desert 
the cause of his country. Although he was very poor 
his reply was that the king of England was not rich 
enough to buy him. 

What a fascinating power is associated with a man 
who is true! The very name of a Gladstone, a Wash- 
ington Or a Lincoln inspires the youth who has a purpose 
with a greater determination not to seek ephemeral great- 
ness but to be true at any cost. Garibaldi's soldiers and 
officers were ready to die for him at any time. When 
he called for forty volunteers to go where it was sure 
that many would meet death, a whole battalion rushed 
forward and lots had to be drawn, so eager were they to 
obey. 



12 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Ye are the light of the world— Jesus Christ. 
A BURNING AND A SHINING LIGHT. 

The lighthouse Pharos, one of the seven wonders of 
the world, at the mouth of the harbor of Alexandria, in 
Egypt, was 400 feet high and lasted for 1,600 years. The 
fire, constantly kept Hghted on its summit, was visible for 
forty miles. 

As the beams from the hghthouse thrown out over 
the ocean are the means of saving many precious lives, so 
in the moral world Christian manhood throws its beams 
of light far out on the sea of life and guides many a tem- 
pest-tossed soul and saves it from the hidden rocks and 
sandbars. On the sides of the great Eddystone light- 
house is cut the motto, ''To give light and to save life.'' 
Like some friendly beacon standing on a rocky coast, or 



A BURNING AND A SHINING LIGHT. 



13 



at the entrance of a harbor, we are all permitted to warn 
men from the evil or guide them toward the good. Verily 
everyone is called to give light and to save life. 

]\Iany a voyager on life's ocean has found guidance 
and deliverance from the kindly rays of help that have 
shone out from some consecrated Christian, when waves 
of sin were beating high, when sunken rocks of tempta- 
tion were just ahead, or when the winds of opposition 
were driving the helpless one toward the rocks and shoals 
of unbelief. Let your light shine. The light is not to be 
hid under a bushel or anything else. Its mission is to 
shine. 

AMiat a development in the power of light from the 
tallow candle to the oil lamp, the kerosene lamp, the gas 
light, the arc light, and who is ready to say that we will 
not in a few years have newer methods of producing still 
stronger light? and all this light is made to shine, to shine 
into and dispel darkness. Thus is the moral light of the 
world to become more powerful as the years go by, and 
to penetrate and disperse the darkness — the darkness of 
ignorance, of superstition, of moral obliquity, of sin in 
every form. 

I long for men and women who, in the realm of help- 
fulness,_ will make their life-study the study of develop- 
ment in power to bless. Already there is lodged in every 
one of you enough power to make you a great help to the 
world. You have light, you have thoughts, views, aspi- 
rations; you know what is good in life. Oh, if you would 
only let the light shine. — J . G. McClure. 

Out into the darkness it is' ours to shine. Noise has 
naught to do with shining, nor has commotion, but power 
has. How light penetrates darkness! How it finds a way 
into darkness! Xo one can tell another the exact things 
he should do in life, but this he can tell, that evervone 
should shine. — J. G. McClure. 



14 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Unto the upright there ariseth light.— Psalmist. 



LIGHT AMTHOL'T HEAT. 

John the Baptist was denominated a burning and a 
shining hght. There may be heat where there is no 
hght, and also Hght where there is no heat. There are 
phosphorescent gleams of light in the firefly,, decayed 
wood, and the sparkling sea wave, but no appreciable 
heat; and there is heat in the blood of all living animals, 
but no light. 

In the northern regions, the aurora, or northern 
light, shines with great brilliancy and is exceedingly 
beautiful. The whole phenomena of waving wreaths, 
flickering flames, rays, curtains, fringes, bands, and flash- 
ing colors, the strange confusion of light and motion, now 
■high in the heavens, then dropping like curtains of gold 
and silver lace, sparkling with a wreath of rubies, emer- 



LIGHT WITHOrT HEAT. 



15 



aids and diamonds, penetrating dark gulches and light- 
ing the whole landscape as with tens of thousands of elec- 
tric lights— all this gives a picture that can faintly be de- 
scribed in words. 

Such a scenery, intensely beautiful as it is, is abso- 
lutely without warmth. As the light flashes across the 
scenery, revealing huge mountains of glistening ice, m- 
stead of warmth, it sends a chill over the well-protected 
observer. These auroras may weh represent the lights 
of worldliness that give no saving warmth to the soul. 

The pleasures of the world may for a time present to 
the eye apparently beautiful and attractive scenes, and 
yet all these, like the auroras, leave the soul in a frosty and 
chilling atmosphere. Xo matter hoAV brilliant and at- 
tractive they may be, they have no power to bestow life- 
giving warmth. 

As the sun in his course gives both light and heat to 
our earth, that would otherwise be a cold, desolate waste, 
thus the true Sun of Righteousness, with healing in his 
wings, brings the warmth and light of life to all hearts 
that are open to receive. 

"]\Iore light," says the gifted poet Gcethe, in his ex- 
piring moments. Well does his biographer say that the 
morality of that day will pass a severe judgment on the 
man who, professing the profoundest subjugation to law 
and order in everything else, seems to have shrunk from 
the golden clasp of legitimate marriage — the man who 
was so light to lend his heart and so fearful to give his 
hand. 

Goethe was a remarkably talented writer, but morally 
and spiritually his writings are like the aurora. Facing 
eternity, his cry was not for more light of the intellect, but 
for more of the light that gives warmth — the light that 
comes to and radiates from every Christian heart. 



16 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




With God, all things are possible.— Jesus Christ. 
IMPOSSIBILITIES. 



The Alps with their snow-capped peaks, with their 
dangerous precipices and the awful abyss beneath, with 
overhanging rocks and mountains of snow that may 
with the slightest change, even of the atmosphere, result 
in a destructive avalanche — these Alps were considered 
well-nigh impassable. But when Napoleon was in- 
formed by his engineer, who had just explored the wild 
passes of St. Bernard, that it would be impossible to take 
the artillery across, he replied, 'There shall be no Alps! 
Impossible is only found in the dictionary of fools." At 
the head of an army of 30,000 men he ordered an advance, 
and with horses and artillery he overcame dangers, diffi- 
culties and obstacles and swooped down upon Italy like 
an Alpine eagle upon its prey. 

When Daniel Webster was delivering his memora- 
ble speech at the dedication of Bunker Hill Monument 
the crowd pressed forward to such an extent that some 



IMPOSSIBILITIES. 



17 



were fainting and some being crushed. Officers strove 
in vain to make the crowd stand back ; they said it could 
not be done Some one asked ^Ir. Webster to make an 
appeal to them. The great orator came forward, 
stretched forth his hand, and said, in his deep, stentorian 
tones, "Gentlemen, stand back!" ''It cannot be done." 
they shouted. "Gentlemen, stand back!" said he without 
a change of voice. ''It is impossible, ^Ir. Webster, im- 
possible.'' "Impossbile?" repeated Webster. ''Impossi- 
ble? Nothing is impossible on Bunker Hill;" and the 
vast crowd swayed and rolled back like a mighty wave of 
the ocean. 

The word impossible was hateful to Chatham, as it 
is to all vigorous natures who recognize the latent, the 
reserved power, in men and nations. "Xever let me hear 
that word again," said Mirabeau. Lord Anson sends 
word to Chatham, then confined to his chamber by one 
of his most violent attacks of the gout, that it is impossi- 
ble for him to fit out a naval expedition within the period 
to which he is limited. "Impossible?" cried Chatham, 
glaring at the m.essenger. '''Who talks to me of impossi- 
bilities?'' Then starting to his feet, and forcing out great 
drops of agony on his brow with the excruciating torment 
of the effort, he exclaimed. "Tell Lord Anson that he 
serves under a minister who treads on impossibilities I" 
— VvTiipple. 

"Impossible,'' said the Elaine legislators when Xeal 
Dow proposed a prohibition bill. "Then we will make 
it possible," was the reply, and that noble man made his 
influence felt throughout the Pine Tree State until the 
bill was engrossed on the statute books of the state. 

What a splendid declaration that is of Paul's; If 
God be for us, who can be against us' He does not 
answer, for no answer is necessary. Xothing can stand 
in the v/ay of a determined soul that obeys God. 



18 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




Buy the truth and sell it not.— Solomon. 
TRUTH AND ERROR. 

Once to every man and nation comes the moment to decide, 
In the strife of Truth with Falsehood, for the good or evil side. 

—Lowell. 

Here is the good old ship of tmth saihng majestic- 
ally over billows and waves, outriding the most severe 
and dangerous storms of the ocean, while Error, although 
sailing out into the ocean apparently under as favorable 
circumstances, has her sails rent in twain and goes down 
before the slightest storm. See those who have taken 
passage in her frail bark! When the hour of extremity 
comes they jump overboard and are lost. 

Truth is the perception and representation of things 
as they are. Truth is the foundation of all knowledge 
and the cement of all society. It is impossible to love 
one in whose truthfulness we cannot confide. It is not 
necessary, as some think, that "good breeding" should be 
sustained through falsehood or af¥ectation. A social sys- 



TRUTH AND ERROR. 



19 



tern that involves the practice of subterfuge is wrong in 
its basis and corroding in its tendencies. It is related 
of Cyrus that when asked what was the first thing he 
learned, he replied, ''To tell the truth'' The true character 
acts rightly, whether in secret or in the sight of men. 
That boy was well trained whO; when asked why he did 
not pocket some pears, for nobody was there to see, re- 
plied. ''Yes, there was; I was there to see myself; and I 
don't inrend ever to see myself do a dishonest thing." 

No dishonest man ever wished that his breast was 
made of glass or that others could read his thoughts. 
Falsehood and affectation may at times appear to give 
one gain or standing in society, but sin is sure to find us 
out. and. like the passenger of the ship "Error," every un- 
true man must suffer shipwreck. 

Habits of the strictest truth ought to be inculcated. 
Xo species of deception can be practiced without injury 
to the practicer. An apprehended or realized detection 
of mistakes and exaggerations has many a time sent a 
blush to the cheek and palpitation to the heart. 

There is no middle ground. A\'hat is not true is 
false. Imagine the delightful emotion with which 
Petrarch must have received the tribute of public ap- 
plause when, on his appearing as witness in a cause and 
approaching to take the oath, he was informed that such 
was the confidence of the court in his veracity that his 
word was sufficient without an oath. 

Are you a true man? Can your word be depended 
upon? 

To thine own self be true; 

And it must follow, as the night the clay, 

Thou canst not then be false to any man. 

—Shakespeare. 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Set your affections on things above. — St. Paul, 
THE MUCKRAKE. 

When Christiana was in the house of the Interpreter, 
she saw in one of the rooms "a. man that could look no 
way but downw^ard, with a muckrake in his hand. 
There stood also one over his head with a celestial crown, 
and proffered him that crown for his muckrake; but the 
man did neither look up nor regard, but raked to him- 
self the straws, the small sticks, and dust of the floor." 
When the meaning of this figure had been explained to 
her, then said Christiana, "Oh, deliver me from this 
muckrake!" That prayer, said the Interpreter, has lain 
by till it is almost rusty. Straws and sticks and dust 
with most are the great things now looked after. That 
rusty old prayer is worth taking out arid oiUng up for 



THE MUCKRAKE. 



21 



fresh use in our day — Lord, deliver us from the muck- 
rake. 

In the cut opposite, the one who proffers the crown, 
being whoHy ignored and rejected, is departing from the 
man, who, in great anxiety to rake up the dohars, is near- 
ing an awful precipice over which his present course will i 
carry him. This man's looking downward instead of 
upward, holding to his muckrake and rejecting a shin- 
ing crown, has its illustrations in many practical phases 
in this life. It applies to the man who lives for money, 
for pleasure, for honor, for position, or for fame, where 
the spiritual needs are entirely forgotten. But the appli- 
cation may be made even wider than this and embrace the 
everyday duties and pursuits. Well may we pray, Lord, 
deliver us from this muckrake. Fixing the eyes on the 
muckrake and rejecting the shining crown is what makes 
life miserable and death dreadful. In seeking pleasure 
or following the customs and fashions of the day our eyes 
may be kept downward and away from the crown. 

In seeking honor and reputation the muckrake be- 
comes peculiarly perilous. If we follow the straws of 
popular applause and ephemeral praise, the sticks of pub- 
lic opinion and the dust of criticism, we are sure to get 
our eyes upon the muckrake instead of on the crown. 

This truth is as applicable to small spheres and 
duties as to large ones. The muckrake policy defeats 
the best results in many philanthropic, religious, mission- 
ary, educational and charitable enterprises. But it 
may also enter into the home, where too much scrubbing, 
sweeping and overexactness may crowd out the nobler 
qualities, the higher welfare, and the moral worth of the 
home. The same is true in society. Everywhere in this 
life the crown and the muckrake are in competition. We 
are looking upward or downward. The muckrake or 
the crown holds your attention. Which is it? 



22 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Be not wise iu thine own eyes. — Solomon. 
OVERCOXFIDEXCE. 
Here is a man who is on the verge of a precipice. 
All unheeded he pushes forward. Scorning the advice 
of a friend, he proposed to judge for himself, and in over- 
confidence in himself he rushes on to ruin. Heedless of 
the earnest admonition of others, he plunges into the 
abyss. 

In the moral world this picture is even more true 
than in the physical. Impetuous and self-willed youth 
say, "I know better than my parents or friends." "I do 
not need your advice.'' ''I am able to take care of my- 
self." These and similar thoughts cause him to trust 
in his own judgment and rush headlong into the moral 
pitfalls found everywhere. It is only when it is too late 
that he is ready to receive the admonitions of others. 



OVERCONFIDEXCE. 



23 



The spirit of the OA-erconlident man is graphically pic- 
tured by- the poet in the following lines: 

"Believe as I believe, no more, no less: 
That I am right, and no one else, confess: 
Feel as I feel, think only as I think: 
Eat what I eat and drink but what I drink: 
Look as I look, do always as I do: 
And then, and only then. I'll fellowship with you. 

'That I am right, and always right. I know. 
Because my own convictions tell me so: 
And to be right is simply this to be — to be 
Entirely and in all respects like me; 
To de\"iate a hair's breadth, or beghi 
To question, or doubt, or hesitate, is sin. 

'"I reverence the Bible if it be 
Translated first and then explained to me: 
By churchly la\\ s and customs I abide. 
If the}' with my opinion coincide: 
All creeds and doctrines I concede divine. 
Except those, of cotirse. which disagree with mine. 

"Let sink the drov.ming. if he will not swim 
Upon the plank that I throw out to him: 
Let starve the htmgry. if he will not eat 
My kind and quantity of bread and meat; 
Let freeze the naked, if he will not be 
Clothed in such garments as are made for me. 

" 'Twere better that the sick should die than live. 

Unless they take the medicine I give: 

'Twere better sinners perish than refuse 

To be conformed to my peculiar ^riews: 
■ "Twere better that the world stand still than move 

In any other way than that which I approve." 

On the other hand, there are those who lack confi- 
dence in their ov,"n abilities, timid, fearing ones who 
always underrate their own eft'orts. ]vlankind is. how- 
ever, not largely afflicted with this class. There is a 
golden mean which we may all strike and in which lies 
the real successful life. 



24 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Thou desirest truth in the inward parts.— Psalmist. 

TRUTH VINDICATED. 

Truth crushed to earth shall rise again; 
The eternal years of God are hers; 
But Error, -wounded, writhes in pain, 
And dies among his worshipers. 

—Bryant. 

Father Time is here represented as slaying with his 
scythe Falsehood and bringing forth Truth, who has for 
a time been overcome and retired from view. Falsehood 
with her sisters, Envy, Malice and Slander, has for a 
season gained the mastery, but Father Time, coming to 
the rescue, slays Falsehood and her allies and restores 
Truth to her place of power. 

Truth generally, when first presented, meets with 
opposition and in not a few cases is apparently suppressed 
and overcome by Error, Stupidity and moral Blindness, 
but ultimately Truth triumphs. 

History records many instances in which advocates 
of reform were persecuted and compelled to endure many 
and severe sufferings before the cause so nobly defended 



TRUTH VINDICATED. 



25 



and so dear to them prevailed and overcame the preju- 
dices of those who, under the guise of conservatism, re- 
tarded every onward move. 

GaHleo, who declared that the earth moves around 
the sun, was compelled to renounce publicly his doctrines 
and to refrain from teaching them. It is difiBcult to be- 
lieve in this day that at the age of seventy Galileo was 
compelled, not only to go before the altar and retract his 
statement that the earth moves, but also to suffer three 
years of imprisonment and to bind himself by a solemn 
oath never to maintain or support this theory either in 
his conversation or writings. 

His heroic spirit, however, resented, as is seen from 
his own statement. Immediately after renouncing at 
the altar the theory that the earth moves, he rose and 
quietly said, "Nevertheless it*moves." Has time vindi- 
cated his theory? 

Another remarkable case of time vindicating truth 
is seen in the life of Oliver Cromwell. This man was 
denounced as a hypocrite, a tyrant, usurper and fanatic. 
Even after his death his body was taken up and hung 
upon a gallows to show contempt of his memory. The 
close of the nineteenth century finds truth vindicated in 
that the ablest writers of to-day hold him to have been 
the wisest statesman, the most religious and virtuous 
ruler ever placed at the head of a nation. 

Elijah P. Lovejoy was wantonly shot down at Alton, 
Illinois, in 1837, because he championed the abolition of 
slavery and insisted on his right to publish his views. 
He died almost unbefriended, and sixty years after (1897) 
a monument is erected to his memory, while an advocate 
of that relic of barbarism, slavery, can hardly be found 
anywhere. 

Falsehood may have its hour, but it has no future. 



26 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




He that uttereth a slander is a fool. — Solomon. 
SLANDER. 

Slander is here represented as shooting his poison- 
ous arrows at his victim under cover of night. Too 
cowardly to do his w^ork in the light, he always seeks 
darkness and covert means to carry on his destructive 
work. Someone says, "So deep does the slanderer sink 
in the murky waters of degradation and infamy, that 
could an angel apply an Archimedean moral lever to him, 
with heaven for a fulcrum, he could not, in a thousand 
years, raise him to the grade of a convict felon." 

Slander is a blighting sirocco; its pestiferous breath 
pollutes with each respiration; its forked tongue is 
charged w^ith the same poison; it searches all corners of 
the world for victims; it sacrifices the high and low, the 
king and the peasant, the rich and poor, the matron and 
maid, the living and the dead; but delights most in de- 
stroying worth and immolating innocence. Lacon has 
justly remarked, "Calumny crosses oceans, scales moun- 



SLANDER. 



27 



tains and traverses deserts with greater ease than the 
Scythian Abaris, and, like him, rides upon a poisoned ar- 
row." 

There is a sad propensity in our fallen nature to 
listen to the retailers cf petty scandal. With many, it is 
the spice of conversation, the exhilarating gas of their 
minds. Without any intention of doing essential injury 
to a neighbor, a careless remark, relative to some minor 
fault of his, may be seized by a babbler, and, as it passes 
through the babbling tribe, each one adds to its bulk, 
and gives its color a darker hue, until it assumes the 
magnitude and blackness of base slander. Few are 
without visible faults — most persons are sometimes in- 
consistent. Upon these faults and mistakes petty scan- 
dal deUgbts to feast. 

Am.ong many species of animals, if one of their num- 
ber is wounded and falls, he is at once torn tO' pieces by 
his fellows. Traces of this animal cruelty are seen in 
men and women to-day. Let a woman fall from virtue 
and nine- tenths of her sisters will turn and tear her to 
pieces, and the next day smile on the man who ruined 
her! O, shame! Reverse the action. Loathing for 
the unrepentant wretch and tenderness for the wounded 
sister. Tenderness and pity and help for both alike if 
they repent and reform. But never trust him who has 
been a betrayer once. Xo kindness demands this risk. 

Censure and criticism never hurt anybody. If false, 
they cannot harm you. unless you are wanting in charac- 
ter; and if true, they show a man his weak points, and 
forewarn him against failure and trouble. — Gladstone. 
/ To persevere in one's duty and to be silent is the first 
answer to calumny. — Washington. 

A whisper wandered round 
From ear to lip— from lip to ear— 
Until it reached a gentle heart, 
And that— it broke.—^lvs. Osgood. 



28 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.— Solomon. 
THINKING AND DOING. 



"Happy the man, and happy he alone, 

He who can call to-day his own; 

He who, secure within himself, can say, 

To-morrow do thy worst, for I liave lived to-day." 

Amy was a bright girl but was too apt to waste time 
in dreaming instead of doing. 

One day the village storekeeper of¥ered her twelve 
cents a quart for blackberries, at the same time telling 
her where she might find large ripe ones. 

This was good news to Amy, as her parents were 
poor and she very much needed new shoes. 

Delighted at the thought of earning money, she ran 
home to get^ a basket, mtending to go immediately to 
pick the berries. 



THINKING AND DOING. 



29 



Then she thought she would Uke to know how much 
she would earn by picking. 

Before she had finished, dinner was ready, so she put 
of¥ picking the berries until the afternoon. After cHn- 
ner she started for the berry patch, but found that some 
boys had been there before dimier and had picked all the 
ripe ones. She could not find enough to fill a quart. 

This simiple story aptly illustrates what older per- 
sons very frequently are found guilty of doing. How 
often men decide to do good and noble deeds but never 
accom.plisli them, because they spend so much time in 
thinking of doing these things that they never do them 
until it is too late. This noble and generous deed, this 
kind and encouraging word that you were contem-plating, 
should be carried into action now. Our thinking of do- 
ing what never is done will never merit a crown of re- 
joicing. A poet sings: 

I know a land where the streets are paved 

With the things which we meant to achieve. 
It is walled with the money we meant to have saved, 

And the pleasures for which we grieved. 
The liind words unspoken, the promises broken, 

And many a coveted boon 
Are stowed away there, in that land somewhere— 

The land of '-'I'retty soon." 

There are uncut jewels of possible fame 

Lying about in the dust. 
And many a noble and lofty aim 

Covered with mold and rust, 
And oih! this place, while it seems so near. 

Is farther away than the moon. 
Tho' onr purpose is fair, we never get there— 

The land of "Pretty soon." 

The road that leads to that mystic land 

Is strewn with pitiful wrecks. 
And the ships that have sailed for its shining strand 

Bear skeletons on their decks. 
It is farther at noon than it was at dawn. 

And farther at night than at noon; 
Oh, let us beware of that land down there— 

The laud of "Pretty soon." —Ella Wtieeler Wilcox. 



30 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Inwardly they are ravening wolves.— Jesus Christ. 

HYPOCRISY. 

"He is the greatest monster, without doubt, 
Who is a wolf within, a sheep without. 
Who dares think one thing and another tell, 
My heart detests him as the gate of hell." 

The wolf in sheep's clothing is a fitting emblem of 
the hypocrite. Every virtuous man would rather meet 
an open foe than a pretended friend who is a traitor at 
heart. Among all things and persons to be despised, 
what is more base or vile than the pretender? 

The hypocrite desires more to seem good than to 
be so. He is like the scorpion that thinks that when its 
head is under a leaf it cannot be seen. He is zealous in 
little things but negligent in the more important. He is 
more troubled by the outbursts of a sinful disposition 
than by the disposition itself. 

Pretension usurps the highest seats, puts on the 
robe of sanctity and utters aloud, to be heard of men, the 
prayers that the true heart breathes in silent confidence 



HYPOCRISY. 



31 



into the ear of a loving Father. Nowhere is the hypocrite 
a greater usurper than in the realm of religion. 

Pretense never stood in so eminent a position as it 
does at the present hour. If you walk through the 
streets of London, you might imagine that all the shops 
were built of marble, and that all the doors were made of 
mahogany and woods of the rarest kinds; and yet you 
soon discover that there is scarce a piece of these precious 
fabrics to be found anywhere, but that everything is 
grained, painted and varnished. I find no fault with this, 
except that it is an outward type of ari inward evil that 
exists. As it is in our streets, so it is everywhere; grain- 
ing, painting and gilding are at an enormous premium. 
Counterfeit has at length attained to such an eminence 
that it is with the utmost difhculty that you can detect 
it. The counterfeit so near approaches to the genuine 
that the eye of wisdom itself needs to be enlightened be- 
fore she can discern the difference. — Spurgeon. 

Cnidus, a skilled architect, building a watch-tower 
for the King of Egypt to aid mariners at night, caused 
his own name to be engraven upon a stone in the wall 
in great letters, and afterward covered it with mortar 
and upon the outside- of that wrote the name of the king 
in golden letters, pretending that all was done for the 
honor and glory of the king. The architect very well 
knew that the dashing of the water would in a little time 
consume the plastering and then his name and memory 
should abide to after generations. Thus there are many 
in this world, who pretend to seek only the glory of God, 
but if there were a window to look into their hearts, we 
should find nothing there but self-seeking. — Spencer. 



O, what authority and show of truth 

Can cunning sin cover itself withal.— Shaliespeare. 



32 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Seek ... if ye can find a man.— Jeremiah. 
FIXDIXG MEN. 

The aboA'e cut represents the Grecian philosopher, 
Diogenes, groing through the streets of Athens in the 
daytime, with a hghted lantern in his hand, seeking for a 
man. Jeremiah says, ''Run ye to and fro through the 
streets of Jerusalem and seek in the broad places thereof 
if ye can find a man." 

The object for which these men were searching 
seemed to be a scarce article, and it has not become too 
numerous to-day. The world needs men. They are 
'needed in every avenue of life. 

"Give us men! 
Strong and stalwart ones! 
Men whom highest hope inspires. 
Men whom purest honor fires, 
]\Ien who trample self beneath them, . 



FINDING MEN. 



33 



Men who make their country wreathe tli^nn 

As her noble sons, 

Worthy of their sires! 
Men who never shame their mothers, 
Men who never fail their brothers, 
True, however false are others; 
. Give us men. I say again, 

Give us men." 

Sir Humphrey Davy, when asked what was his 
greatest discovery, replied, 'The discovery of ]\Iichael 
Faradav." The finding and bringing forth of the youth 
who afterward achieved so much in scientific research 
was to Davy greater than his own many scientific revela- 
tions. History is full of instances showing that often- 
times the grandest work ever done has been in the way of 
finding those who have developed into eminent and dis- 
tinguished benefactors of mankind. 

It may be instinctive to desire to be first ourselves, 
but it is braver, nobler and more praiseworthy to forget 
self in the eftort to bring forward some unrecognized 
hero. Andrew's best day's work was when he brought 
Peter to Jesus. Although he was cast into the shade by 
the great achievements of his brother Peter, yet we owe 
much to the loving, self-forgetful Andrew, the great 
leader of the apostolic band. — Dana. 

Those who labored to reform Gough, P.eynolds and 
Murphy, those who found and brought forward great 
mien of all ages, have rendered an inestimable service to 
mankind. Seeking and finding men is ahvays rewarded. 

The world is always looking for men; men of char- 
acter; men who are not for sale; men who are true to 
the core. We may not all be great in the eyes of the 
world, but in His sight we are truly great if we do our 
duty, even though our work be that of finding men who 
shall do greater works than we have done. 
3 



34 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Guide me with ttiy counsel.— Psalmist. 

LOSING THE THREAD. 

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every tan,' 
we fall.— Confucius. 

Nor deem the irrevocable past 

As wholly wasted, wholly vain, 
If, rising on its wrecks, at last 

To something nobler we attain. 

— liOngfellow. 

A young man, visiting Rome, examined the in- 
scriptions on the walls ol the catacombs. Instead of tak- 
ing a guide, he preferred to be free to move around as he 
wished, and took a torch and a ball of cord. He fast- 
ened the cord at the entrance and unwound it as he passed 
in with his torch through the lowly, winding ways. He 
felt no fear, for he had but to wind up his ball of cord 
and he would be led to the entrance. Ah went well for 
a time. He became very much interested in the in- 
scriptions on slabs and tombs, made by Christians cen- 



LOSING THE THREAD. 



35 



turies before in memory of their friends who were buried 
there while conceaHng themselves from the persecutions 
of the Roman pagans. While he was thus engaged he 
stumbled and fell, losing his ball of cord and his torch. 
What added to his misfortune was that his torch went 
out. In complete darkness he got down on the ground 
and felt around for the cord, but his efforts were all in 
vain. Despair seized upon him, for he would likely per- 
ish if he could not find the cord. After groping about in 
the darkness until he became completely exhausted he 
fell and fainted away from fear, fatigue and hunger. When 
he became conscious, he found that in grasping the 
ground he had again gotten hold of his cord. Springing 
to his feet he followed its leadings and soon again came 
to the opening, and there knelt, thanking God for His 
goodness in permitting him to com.e to the light. 

There are many who, in losing the guiding threads 
of their lives, lose their right tO' happy and useful lives 
here and blessedness hereafter. Parental restraint and 
advice is spurned. The youth of to-day too often depends 
upon his own resources and judgment to guide him 
through life. Threads of industry are lost by the idle 
and profligate who have no employment and do not 
want any, for the world owes them a living. Threads of 
virtue are lo'St by scorning the advice of friends and 
listening to the plausible statements of the destroyer of 
souls. Proof of this is seen in the many young women 
who are leading lives of shame, and in the men, who, 
going by the way of the saloon and the brothel, have 
dragged down innocent and artless womanhood into 
depths w^here every ennobling trait of chara>cter is a 
stranger. 

True, when once lost, these threads are sometimes 
regained. But how much better never to have gone 
astray. 



36 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




This one thiug I do.— St. Paul. 
HAVING AN AIM. 

A light snow had fallen and a company of schoolboys 
wished to make the most of it. It was too dry for snow- 
balling. It was proposed that a number of boys walk 
across a meadow near by and see who could make the 
straightest track. On examination it was found that 
only one could be called straight. When asked, two of 
them said they went as straight as they could without 
looking at anything but the ground. The third said, 'T 
fixed my eye on that tree on yonder hill and never looked 
away till I reached the fence."' 

We often miss the end of life by having no object 
before us. 

In one of his fiercest battles, it is known that Philip, 
King of Macedon, lost his eye from a bowshot. And 



HAYING AN AIM. 



37 



when the soldiers picked up the shaft which wounded 
him, tliey perceived upon it these words: "To Phihp's 
eve!" The archer was so certain of his skih that he had 
announced his aim beforehand. It is a pitiable mistake, 
when one comes tO' care, like a lawn sportsman, more for 
a stately posture and a graceful attitude than for the 
mark he aims at. 

Once when the British Science Association met in 
Dublin, Mr. Huxley arrived late at the city. Fearing to 
miss the president's address he hurried from the train, 
jumped into a jaunting-car and breathlessly said to the 
driver, "Drive fast, I am in a hurry!" The driver slashed 
his horse with his whip and went spinning down the 
street. Suddenly it occurred to Mr. Huxley that he had 
probably not instructed the driver properly. He shouted 
to the driver, ''Do you know where I want to go?" "No, 
yer 'onor," was Pat's laughing reply, "but I'm driving 
fast all the while." There are many people who go 
through the world in this way. They are always going, 
and sometimes at great speed, but never get anywhere. 
They have no definite purpose and never accomplish 
anything. 

It is the man that has an aim that accomplishes some- 
thing in this world. A young man fired with a deter- 
mined purpose to win in a particular aim has fought half 
the battle. What was it that has made men great in the 
past? One dominant aim! Names of great men at once 
siiggest their life purpose. No one thinks of a Watt 
aside from, the steam engine, a Howe suggests the sew- 
ing machine, a Bell the telephone, an Edison the electric 
light, a Morse the telegraph, a Cyrus Field the Atlantic 
cable. A man of one talent, fixed on a definite object, 
accomplishes more than a man of ten talents who spreads 
himself over a large surface. To keep your gun from 
scattering put in a single shot. 



38 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




I bare yon on eagles' wings.— ExoQiis. 
PROVIDENTIAL LEADINGS. 

As an eagle stirreth up her nest, fliittereth over her 
young, spreadeth abroad her wings, taketh them, bear- 
eth them ou her wings; so the Lord alone did lead him. — 

The inspired writer in the above passage refers to 
the well-known fact that when the young eaglets are 
old enough the parent eagle so stirs up the nest that they 
are obliged to leave it and are compelled to make use of 
their wings. The parent bird flutters over and about 
them, spreads out her v/ings, and when their ef¥orts fail, 
bears them upon her own wings to a place of safety. 
Thus their wings are strengthened with use and they are 
taught to fly and to depend upon themselves. To see 
the parent tearing tO' pieces the comfortable nest and to 
render homeless the young eaglet seems cruel tO' an 
observer who does not understand the motive of the par- 
ent bird. Why should not the eaglet be left undisturbed 
in its comfortable nest, where it may remain for weeks? 



PROVIDENTIAL LEADINGS. 



39 



The parent bird too well knows that as long as it remains 
in the nest its wings will not become strong and it will 
consequently be helpless and dependent. Seeing the 
yoimg eaglet use its wings dexterously in a short time, 
the observer understands that it w^as a desire for the well- 
being of its young that prompted the mother-bird to dis- 
turb the quiet of the nest. . 

Is there not a valuable lesson for all to learn from 
the action of the eagle? How often do men build them- 
selves nests of ease and luxury and determine to settle 
down comiortably, when the strong arm of an over- 
ruling Providence disturbs their would-be rest and over- 
throws their plans. Oftentimes have men looked upon 
their lot as a hard one, upon God's dealings wdth them as 
almost unkind. It is only after they have been brouglit 
to realize the full development of God's plan that they 
are able to say from the heart, ''All things work together 
for good to them that love God." Jacob, when mourn- 
ing the loss of Joseph in Egypt, said, "All these things 
are against me." Joseph, looking backward, said, "God 
meant it unto good." Paul, wdio was persecuted and who 
endured untold sufferings, asserts that these light afflic- 
tions work out for us an exceeding and eternal weight of 
glory. 

Parents can also take a lesson from the action of 
the mother-bird. Children should be made to depend 
upon themselves. Many children, and this may be more 
true of children of wealthy parents, are petted and 
fondled by anxious, loving parents, until they are of no 
good in the world, because they have not learned to de- 
pend upon their own strength. Notable examples are 
the two sons of millio'Uaire Geo. Pullman, who, on ac- 
count of their shiftless and profligate w^ays, found it 
necessary to withhold part of their rightful inheritance 
and to appoint a custodian of all allotted to them. 



40 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




They shall mount up with wings.— Isaiah. 
FAITH REMOVES EEAR. 

The bird often perches on a frail branch that bends 
and yields beneath its weight, or is swayed by the lightest 
breeze. It has, however, no fear, even though the out- 
ward and material support should give way, for it has 
wings, those supports in itself which God has given. So 
faith, the gift of God, renders one in a measure inde- 
pendent of external props, and buoys up the soul, though 
all earthly aids be withdrawn.— E. P. Thwing. 

It must be a stirring moment in the life of a little 
bird when, thrust fluttering from the nest, it discovers 
that it need not fall — that its wings can bear it up. Hugo 
has brought the thought ■\ ery close to us in the beautiful 
lines: 



FAITH REMOVES FEAR, 



41 



"Be like a bird tliat halting in her flight 

A while on boughs too slight, 

Feels them give away beneath her, and yet sings. 

Knowing that she hath wings." 

Very often in these lives of ours we rest for a time 
on "boughs too sHght." We depend on our own 
strength, on the promises of friends, on circumstances 
that seem so favorable, and suddenly we find them giv- 
ing way beneath us. But even then there is no> need 
for us to fall helplessly. Let us spread the pinions of 
faith and love, and soar upward, singing praises to Him 
who gave us our wings, not only to prevent our falling, 
but that we should mount joyfully into the cloudless blue 
of heaven itself. 

It is a clear delight for the soul to have trust in 
the fidelity of another. It makes a pillow of softness for 
the cheek which is burning with tears and the touch of 
pain. It pours a balm into the very source of sorrow. It 
is a hope undeferred, a flowery seclusion, intO' which 
the mind, when weary of sadness, may retreat for a 
caress of constant love; a warmth in the hand o-f friend- 
ship forever lingering on the hand; a consoling voice 
that dwells as with an eternal echo on the ear; a dew of 
mercy falling on the bruised and troubled hearts oif this 
world. — Harper's. 

The effect of abating faith means disorder, wicked- 
ness, the decay of homes and of governments. It means 
the French Revolution and the reign of such men as 
Robespierre and Mirabeau. It means riot and uprising 
and communistic excitement. Life would then be but a 
burning, sandy desert, surrounded on all sides by a dark 
and impenetrable horizon. An endless starry night 
would settle over the world, and instead of the hymn of 
praise and the song of hope there would everywhere be 
heard the piercing wail of anguish and despair. — S. P. 
Linn. 



42 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Take us the foxes, the little foxes, for our vines have tender grapes. 

—Solomon. 

LITTLE FOXES. 

The little foxes infesting the vine and bearing away 
luscious fruit represent those unsuspected, insignificant 
little causes that nibble many clusters of domestic happi- 
ness, marring the noble institution of home, and granting 
to communities of people far less happiness than their 
circumstances and their traits entitled them to expect. 

The foxes that spoil the vines may be very little 
foxes, but they do a tremendous work and become of vast 
importance. The little and unimportant things in our 
lives often make up those lives, form our characters 
and determine our future destinies. 

Fault-finding is a little fox that mxany people let run 
quite freely among their vines, with the idea that he helps 
the growth of the grapes. But let us look over life and 
ask, How much of the fault-finding that prevails has the 



LITTLE FQXES. 



43 



least tendency to do any good? How much of it is 
well-timed, well-spoken and deliberate, and how much 
of it does not profess to do more than to give vent to 
an irritable state of feeling? 

Repression. — The bitterest tears shed over graves are 
for v^ords left unsaid, deeds undone. How much more 
might we make of our friendships if our thoughts of love 
blossomed into deeds; and yet many ol us have a habit 
of repression in regard to all that is noblest within us. 
This little fox may seem too small to do any mischief, 
yet he has spoiled many grapes of happiness. Let us 
say the kind things that rise in our hearts, do the loving 
deeds that we long to do, till the hearts oi those around 
us, instead of being so many frozen islands, shall re- 
sound with the echo of bird voices, answering with a 
constant melody of love. 

Self -Will is another active little fellow who has de- 
stroyed more grapes than can be estimated. Are the little 
dififerences that rise up in a family or community worth 
the ill-tempered words apt to grow out of a discussion? 
Are the little criticisms we make on one another worth 
the destruction of quietude and happiness?. Rather let 
every man and woman learn to give up in little things 
with good grace. 

Irritability. — This is a state of nervous torture; it 
really approaches physical depravity. There are soiiie 
conditions of the nerves such that even an angelic spirit 
in a body thus disordered could not more than simply 
endure. The warding off of this little fox can be ac- 
complished in two ways: First, by keeping ourselves 
out of irritable bodily states; second, by controlling these 
states when they environ us. 



44 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




There is a vraj that seemeth right, but the end thereof is death. 

— S jloruon. 

TWO WAYS. 



Jean Paul Richter has pictured an aged man at the 
close of a wasted life recalling" the hour of his youth 
when his father placed him at the entrance of two roads, 
*'one leading into a peaceful, sunny land,, covered with a 
fertile harvest, and resounding with soft, sweet songs; 
the other leading the wanderer into a deep, dark cave, 
whence there was no issue, where poison flowed instead 
of \<'ater, and where serpents hissed and crawled." Stung 
with remorse at the result of that hour's choice, he cries 
cut for the return of youth. His prayer is granted, for he 
is stiU a "boy at the parting of the ways, and has seen in 
a dream the consequences of a wrong choice. The two 
ways — the way that leads into the land of peace and fruit- 
fulness, of light and life, and the way that leads into the 
land of unrest and darkness and death — are before us 
now. The choice is ours now, but we knoAv not how 
long it will be. "Therefore, choose you, this day." 

Pythagoras compared life to the letter Y.. It is the 



TWO WAYS. 



45 



diverging of the broad and the narrow ways. It is easy 
to go in the right way at first. It is comparatively easy 
to cross from the wrong to the right way at the begin- 
ning. But each day's progress widens the distance. Ob- 
stacle's grow^ greater, till at last it is almost impossible to 
change. 

A painter once painted the portrait of a lov(.dy child. 
That heavenly countenance cheered him in his work as he 
gazed upon it in his study. Years after he resolved to 
paint its opposite. He could find no face ugly enough 
until at last he found it in a hardened wretch confined 
for life in a prison cell. After painting the terrible face 
imagine his astonishment wdien he learned that it was 
that of the same person that he had painted before. The 
lovely, innocent child had become the hardened, profli- 
gate criminal. In the bosom of every child there slum- 
bers in embryo the demon of destruction and woe or the 
angel of purity and light. Each mdividual must choose 
what it shall be. 

An old legend says that a fool and ri wise man 
journeyed together and came to a point w^here there 
was a parting of the ways — one was broad and pleasant 
and the other narrow and rough. Tlie f'.)ol desired to 
take the broad way, but the wise man, knowing that 
the other was the siiorter and safer, preferred that. The 
fool, so urgent in his demands, prevailed upon the wise 
man at last, against his better judgment, to take the 
pleasant path. Robbers took them captive, and in turn 
both they and the robbers were taken by officers of the 
law. Before the judge the wise man pleaded that the 
fool was to blame, and the fool pleaded that he was oi<ily 
a fool and that no sensible man should have heeded his 
counsel. The judge punished both equally. Man him- 
self must suffer if he does not choose, the path of virtue 
and life. 



46 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




As we have, therefore, oppurtuuity, let us do good imto all meu.— 
St. Paul. . 

IMPROVING OPPORTUNITIES. 
"No clock can tick for us the moments gone." 

The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his oppor- 
tunity when it comes.— Disraeli. 

Two centuries ago a great sun dial was reared in 
All Souls' College, Oxford, England. Over it were writ- 
ten in letters of gold the Latin words, "Horae pereunt 
et imputantur — " ''Hours pass and are set down to our 
account." It is said that many young men were stimu- 
lated thereby to the most conscientious use of hours and 
opportunities as they passed. The benefit was seen in 
the long lives of usefulness and faithfulness of many of 
these noble youth. 



IMPROVING OPPORTUNITIES. 



47 



I think that ''opportunity" is Hke the doctrine of 
election. You can tell nothing about it from "the front," 
but may see "millions in it" from the "other side." — 
J. G. Woolley. 

There never was an angel of God, however bright, 
terrible or strong, that was able to roll away the stone 
from the grave of a dead opportunity. — Mrs. Harper. 

The event of a lifetime may be found in an opportune 
moment of time. William J. Bryan saw his opportunity 
and, by the utterance of a few sentences at an opportune 
time, made that which was unthought of possible, and 
became one of the most aggressive presidential candi- 
dates in our country's history. Vanderbilt saw his oppor- 
tunity in steamboat navigation ; Rockefeller in petroleum ; 
Elizabeth Fry in the prisons of England; Philip Armour 
saw his opportunity in Grant's order, "On to Richmond.'' 
Hen went to New York and sold pork . at $40 a barrel. 
It afterward fell to $12 and he made two millions. 

Gough, in representing men who do not seize their 
opportunity, said that some men have three hands — a 
right hand, a left hand and a little behindhand. 

Opportunities come to all. The days of every life 
are full of them. But the trouble with too many of us 
is that we do not make anything out of them while we 
have them. The next moment they are gone. One man 
goes through life sighing for opportunities. If only he had 
this or that gift, or place, or position, he would do great 
things, he says; but with his means, his poor chances, 
his meager privileges, his uncongenial circumstances, his 
limitations, he can do nothing worthy of himself. Then 
another m_an comes up close beside him, with like means, 
chances, circumstances, privileges, and he achieves noble 
results, does heroic things, wins for himself honor or 
renown. The secret is in the man, not in his environ- 
ment.— J. R. Miller. 



48 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Thoii knowest not whether shall prosper.— Solomon. 
UNSEEN INFLUENCES. 

''How do you know there is a kite in the air?" said 
a man to a boy who was holding a string leading sky- 
ward. "1 see nothing and you see nothing." "But I feel 
it /)?///!" was the prompt reply. 

So with many unseen influences coming from various 
sources. We cannot explain their origin, but somehow 
they mold and shape our lives; somehow we feel them 
pull our hearts upward and onward. 

We associate with men whose thoughts are en- 
nobling, whose lives are refined and have an aim, whose 
conversation is elevating, whose manners and bearing 
are courteous and dignified, and unconsciously our own 
lives are taking on the same traits, our characters are 
expanding in the same direction. On the other hand, 
let our companions be those whose thoughts are de- 
basing, whose lives are coarse and aimless, whose con- 
versation is commonplace and borders on the vulgar, 



UNSEEN INFLUENCES. 



49 



whose manners are rude and offensive, and unconsciously 
and involuntarily we, at least in some respects, show the 
influence of these surroundings upon our own lives. 

Sailing from Cuba, a sailor thought he had gained 
sixty miles one day, but the next observation showed 
that he had lost more than thirty miles. There was an 
unseen undercurrent. The ship had been going forward by 
the wind but going back by a current. A man's course 
may often seem to be right, but the undercurrent is some- 
times carrying him in a direction the very opposite of 
that which he thinks he is going. Unseen influences 
miay be debasing or elevating. Every man has an influ- 
ence over someone else. This influence may be far- 
reaching or otherwise, according to circumstances. It is 
impossible to deny or to be free from the responsibility 
of exerting an influence upon others. Each one must, 
however, decide for himself whether this influence shall 
be ennobling or degrading. 

Many a pliable youth, whose future was still unde- 
cided, has had his destiny determined by a word, a look, 
a touch, a shadow. Thousands of men have been de- 
stroyed in this world who never knew, nor even sus- 
pected, that it was some small circumstance that deter- 
mined their destruction. Thousands of men have been 
led by some unseen influence to choose the better part 
and to give their lives for the uplifting of humanity. 

''T have no more influence than a farthing rush- 
light," said a workman, in his blouse. A friend replied: 
"Well, a rushlight does much. It may burn a haystack or 
a house; it helps one read a chapter in God's word. Go 
your way and let your little rushlight so shine before men 
that they may glorify your Father in heaven." 



4 



50 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Eril shall noi overTake AIl:..^^. 
OVERTAKEN BY THE TIDE. 

'Twas evening, and the setting sun 

Threw beams of fire athwart the lea. 

As two yoTing forms, their errand done, 
Hied home beside the heaving sea. 

The way was long — the rock}' shore 

Stretched round for miles beneath their eyes; 

Yet o'er the waters, straight before. 
Their father's sheltered cabin lies. 

"Come, sister, come,"' the elder cried, 

"We'll cross the moist and spongy sand; 

Our swifter feet shall race the tide, 

And reach yon jutting point of land." 

They go; but ere they far had crossed. 

The flood had turned with foaming crest- 
Came roaring in — and all seemed lost, 
As terror filled each childish breast. 



OVERTAKEN BY THE TIDE. 



51 



They looked behind — the treacherous sea 

Had rolled between them and the shore. 

And where in front their way should be 

Now surged the waves with hideous roar. 

The younger gazed with staring eyes 

That glittered with ecstatic fear, 
And watched the foaming walls arise 

That nearer rolled, and still more near. 

The elder prayed, "O God. our Lord! 

Who long ago in Galilee 
Didst still the tempest by thy word, 

With pity now our peril see!" 

That prayer was heard, for faith had prayed; 

A boat leaps swiftly o'er the waves; 
Their earthly parent flies to aid. 

And. praising God. his children saves! 

^ E. J. Pope. 

Thus does youth often venture in paths that seem 
safe for tlie time being, but hardly having entered upon 
them they are overtaken by tides of temptation, of doubt, 
of unbehef, of sin. How often have promising youths, 
strong and vigorous, started out believing themselves able 
to withstand any flow of the tide, but how often, even 
ere the noonday of life was reached, have tlie tides of evil 
associates, bad habits, sinful pleasures and self-indul- 
gence rolled over them, leaving them physical and moral 
wrecks! Better take the more safe path, even though 
to youthful eyes another may seem more inviting. Bet- 
ter not take the first glass of strong drink, better not 
smoke the first cigar, than to depend upon your strength 
to quit when you wish. Thousands who were of tli^ same 
mind as you have gone down before these awful tides of 
habit, pleasure and sin. Better take the Irishinan's ad- 
vice, who, after being in this country for some time, wTOte 
to his friend in Ireland: "Dear Patrick, if you have not 
started, go back." Do as Solomon says, ''Leave off be- 
forehand." 



52 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Lauuch out into the deep.— Jesus Christ. 
IN DEEP WATER. 

A passenger said to the pilot of a steamboat: "You 
have been a long time, I suppose, at this business?" 
"Yes," answered the pilot, "upward of twenty years." 
"You know, then, every rock and shoal in these waters?" 
"Not by a long way," was the reply. "How then dare 
you act as pilot?" inquired the passenger. "Because I 
know where the deep water is." That was all that was 
necessary to safe piloting. As long as the man at the 
wheel kept the boat in deep water she was safe. Many 
ships have been wrecked because the men in charge 
failed to see that their course was taking the vessel out 
of deep water. Safety lies in keeping in the channel. 

That pilot unconsciously expressed an important 
truth that all will do well to observe. It is not at all neces- 



IN DEEP WATER. 



53 



sary for us to know the extent and character of all the 
evils that exist. But we do need to know where the path 
of right and duty lies. 

The suggestion that we ought to know just what 
evils exist in order that we may avoid them is a danger- 
ous one. Young men often think that they must look 
on the face of vice in order to recognize virtue when 
they see her. There could be no greater mistake. Vir- 
tue can be recognized without any such perilous experi- 
ments. Keep to the deep water young man. It is not 
required of you to name and describe all the rocks of evil 
that lie outside of the channel. Your place is not among 
the reefs and shoals but where there is plenty of clear 
water between your vessel's keel and the bottom. The 
honest inquirer need not be in doubt as to where the 
path of a clean and useful life lies. It will not help and 
it may hinder him to become acquainted with the 
"crooked ways" of wicked men. It is better to be called 
ignorant and ''verdant" and be innocent than to be among 
the knowing and besmirched ones. With intentions 
and purposes, however noble and elevating, the investiga- 
tions of the theater and the dens of vice and infamy must 
leave their mark on manhood's innocent brow. Young 
man, avoid these awful rocks and shoals and keep in 
deep water. It is not only a waste of time, it is running 
a fearful risk to acquaint yourself familiarly with evil. 

The same truth holds in the religious world. It is 
better to know what God says than to know what the 
errorist and critic of God's word says. It may be the 
business of the cartographer to map out the rocks and 
shoals, but the pilot's business is to keep the vessel in 
deep water. Many have been wrecked on the shoals 
of unbelief in attempting to investigate error. The best 
refutation of error is the teaching ol the truth. The 
safest way to extend religion is the living of the truth. 
Whatever else you do, keep in deep water, young man. 




Rather . , . than to enjoy the pleasures of sin.— St. I'aul. 

AVERXUS. 

Pleasures are like poppies spread; 
You seize the flower, its bloom is shed; 
Or like the snowfalls in the river, 
A moment white — then melts forever, 

--Burns. 

Avernus means birdless and is the name of a small 
and nearlv circular lake in Campania, Italy, It is located 
in the desolate crater of an extinct volcano. The ancients 
say that a sulphurous and mephitic vapor rose from the 
infernal depths and hung over the dark waters, poisoning 
tlie atmosphere and stupefying the sense of the eagle and 
the nightingale that tried to pass from shore to shore. 
The wing suddenly became powerless, and the eagle, 
with his pride, and the nightingale, with his song, fell 
into the river of death. 



AVERXUS. 



55 



There is a lake of pleasure, of folly, of sin. lying- near 
the homes of the young. A deadly air hangs over it. The 
young, forgetful or ignorant of its fatal A'apors, spread 
their wings upon its hither shore — those wings made in 
Heaven and good enough for angels. But at last their 
flight is checked, and be the heart once proud like the 
eagle's or sweet with song like the lark's, alike it falls 
into the dark flood. Every young heart of man or woman 
carries with it a vitality that may make and a genius that 
may beautify a vast empire. As God implants in tlie 
young bu"d a power that makes it at last spread its 
wings and cast itself upon the soft air, so into the yoimg 
bosom, which He loves more than He loves the sparrow. 
He has emptied an urn of enthusiasm, of hope, of senti- 
ment, of love, of ambition, which are to become the wings 
of all subsequent flight. Trusting yourselves, my young 
friends, to these wings, the great air of the world will 
softly bear you up. But to permit this holy vitalitv 
to exhaust itself in a saloon beneath the pavement, to 
compel the inspiration of a young heart to spend its divine 
resources upon a drunken song, or to studv onlv the 
shape and colorings of a toilet, to turn away such a 
gifted spirit from the enthusiasm of learning, of art, of 
culture, of religion, and make it beat its bright wings 
only in the foul atmosphere of vice, is the most painful 
of all the pictures seen in the drama of man. — David 
Swing. 

A bee found a pot of honey ready made, and began 
to sip out of the dish rather than to fly about the meadoAVS 
and gather little by little the sweetness from the cups 
of flowers. V\'hen it began to get tired it found that 
its wings were all clogged and would not open, nor could 
it drag its body out of the mass. So it died, buried in 
pleasure. — J. Edmond. 



56 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




The .soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing. —Solomon. 

OX THE BORDERLAND OE CRIME. 

An idler is a watch that wants both hands; 
As useless if it goes as when it stands. 

— Cowpev. 

*'\A'ork is as necessary for peace of mind as for 
health of body. A day of worry is more exhausting 
than a week of work." 

The bird that ceases to use its wings does not hang 
in mid-air, but drops Hke a stone to the ground, and by 
a law almost as certain he sinks into evil habits whose 
time and faculties are not engaged in innocent and good 
employments. So much is this the case that though the 
periods of relaxation are desirable there is danger in 
unduly prolonging them. "There are few, indeed," says 
Addison, ''who know how to be idle and innocent; every 
diversion they take is at the expense of some one virtue 
or another, and their very first step out of business is 
into vice or folly."* The purest water left to stagnate 
grows putrid, and the finest soil thrown into fallow^ 



ox THE BORDERLAND OF CRIME. 



57 



soon throws up a crop of weeds. Had David, as in other 
days, followed his army to the battlefield, he had periled 
his life but saved his character: escaping a temptation that 
owed perhaps more than half its power tO' the luxurious 
ease and idleness of a palace. Idleness is the mother of 
mischief, and who would keep their hands from doing 
wrong must employ them in doing good. — Guthrie. 

There is nothing that wastes strength like idleness, 
and nothing that keeps one's strength like tireless ac- 
tivity. Alice Rollins, in a little poem, tells of a potter 
at his work whose one foot was kept busy turning his 
sv^^Ift wheel, while the other rested patiently on the 
ground, ^^llen sympathy is expressed in "How tired 
his foot must be!" the potter corrects the error as to 
the source of weariness: 

"Slowly he raised lais patient eyes, 

With homely truth inspired; 
No, marm, it isn't the foot that kicks, 

The one that stands gets tired." 

If you want to get tired, do nothing. The man that 
is idle is least ready to^ lend a helping hand, while the 
man who is doing most is always ready to do one thing 
more. Shun idleness as you would a deadly foe. 

The man who did not think it respectable to bring 
up his children to work in later years heard from his three 
sons. One was a driver on a canal: another was arrested 
as a vagrant; the third had gone to an institution to 
learn to hammer stones under a keeper. 

George Schorb says laziness is tlie unpardonable sin. 
Nature abhors a vacuum, especially in the head. If it 
is not filled with good, the bad will surely find something. 
If the soil is not cultivated weeds will grow. It is im- 
portant to direct the occupation of a people, but much 
more important to direct their leisure. Idleness should 
always be considered a disgrace. 



58 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




As a man tbinkoth in liis heart so is he.— Solomon. 
ERECT OR STOOPED-SHOULDERED. 



A man cannot aspire if he looks down. Look up- 
ward, live upward. — Harden. 

The youth who does not look up will look down, 
and the spirit that does not soar is destined perhaps to 
grovel. — Disraeli. 

If we look down, then our shoulders stoop. If our 
thoughts look down, our character bends. It is only 
when we hold our heads up that the body becomes erect. 
It is only when our thoughts go up that our lives become 
erect. — Alexander McKenzie. 

Stooped shoulders are a deformity and a serious 
detriment tO' good health. One of the first principles of 
physical beauty, strength and healthfulness is erect car- 
riage. Man's upright carriage is one of the strong marks 
of distinction from the brute creation, and the Creator 
has made it essential to physical perfection and fullness 



ERECT OR STOOP-SHOULDERED. 



59 



of days. A stooped form is unnatural. Keep the body 
straight. This is important. — S. P. Spreng. 

There is a personahty, within this outer stature, 
which also has form, proportions and carriage. It is 
the true self. This inner man originally was erect, up- 
right, holy. But sin came and smote him into deformity. 
Originally he looked upward; since his fall his thoughts 
are downward, and he continually goes from bad to worse. 
He stoops earthward. All the imaginations of his heart 
are evil. If our habitual thoughts are down and not up, 
then our character is sure to bend — and is bent and we 
are returning to the deceitful and destructive ways of sin. 
It is essential to spiritual healthfulness that we hold our 
heads up and that we strictly maintain an erect carriage. 
This erect bearing is one of the strong marks of distinc- 
tion between the followers of Christ and the servants 
of sin. There should be no stoop-shouldered Christians. 
But it is to be feared that if the veil were drawn aside 
and we were enabled to see the spiritual man as he is in 
multitudes of Christians, we would behold a sorry lot 
of deformities. — S. P. Spreng. 

A noble aspiration gives the youth a manly, erect 
bearing On the other hand, to have no aspirations or to 
aspire to that which does not ennoble life gives the 
individual the stoop-shouldered appearance. 

John Ruskin is said to have given away most of his 
fortune in his efforts to teach English artisans what is 
beautiful. George W. Childs, Philadelphia's nobleman; 
Elizabeth Fry, England's prison reformer; W. E. Dodge-, 
New York's philanthropist; Frances E. Willard, the 
leader in temperance work; Gladstone, the invincible, and 
a host of others of God's nobility, have risen to such 
great heights because of an aspiration towering far above 
selfish ambition or the love of glory, riches and outward 
advantages. 



60 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




Honor thy father and thy mother.— Jehovah. 
FILIAL AFFECTION. 



During the French Revolution an innocent girl and 
her father were imprisoned. When the massacres of 
September commenced and the sight of blood seemed to 
increase the rage of the assassins the girl's father was 
led forth to be executed. The young girl threw herself 
betw^een her father and her enemies so that a sword lifted 
against her father could not be struck but through the 
body of his child. The courage and filial af¥ection for a 
moment stunned the assassins. She seized the favor- 
able opportunity and plead for his life. One of the 
mousters proposed that she should drink a glass of 
blood and her father would be saved. She shuddered and 
retreated, but filial affection gained the ascendency and 
she yielded to the horrible condition. The cry of "Far- 
don" was heard, and she fell into her father's trembling 



FILIAL AFB^ECTION. 



61 



arms, who was overcome by such powerful affection and 
so providential a deliverance. Even the outrageous 
assassins shed tears, and the father and daughter were 
conducted to a place of safety. 

A gentleman of Sweden was condemned to suffer 
death as a punishment for offenses committed in the 
discharge of an important public ofifice which he had 
filled acceptably for many years. His son, eighteen 
years of age, learning of his father's doom, rushed before 
the judge who had pronounced the fatal decree, and, 
throwing himself at his feet, prayed that he might suffer 
instead of his father. The magistrate, satisfied of the 
sincerity of the youth, laid the whole matter before the 
king. The king was so deeply affected by the son's 
reverence and love for his father that he pardoned the 
father and appointed the son to a confidential office. 

Hebrew tradition gives an account of a Gentile gem 
merchant who had a very valuable sapphire, unsurpassed 
in brilliancy and color. A Jewish elder was sent to 
search for such a stone. The gem merchant informed him 
that he had what was desired but could not get it at 
once, as it was in a room in which his aged father was 
sleeping, and money could not induce him to wake his 
father. The elder was compelled to return at once, and 
offered him many times its value for the gem, but the 
merchant could not be persuaded to disturb his father. 
He lost a very profitable sale, but he had something- 
better — the consciousness of having the blessing that 
comes from a son's filial affection. 

Some may suppose these to be extreme cases, but 
there are many examples of children risking their lives 
and all to show their affection for their parents. 

Do your parents know of the filial affection toward 
them? Show it in every possible way now and make 
their lives the happier. To-morrow it may be too late. 



62 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




A child is known by hi;; doings.— Solomon. 

FILIAL INGRATITUDE. 

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is to have a thauiiles.s child. 

—Shakespeare. 

Ingratitude! thou marble-hearted fiend, 
More hideous, when thou show"st thee in a child. 
Than the sea monster. 

—Shakespeare. 

He that's ungratefttl has no guilt but one; 
All other crimes mav pass for virtues in him. 

—Young. 

A poor negress, a slave in the ^lauritius, with great 
labor and long parsimony, had saved as much money 
as enabled her to purchase her daughter from their com- 
mon owner; being content to remain in bondage for the 
pleasure of seeing her child walking at large, with shoes 
on her feet, which are there the badge of freedom among 
people of color, no slave being permitted to wear them. 



FILIAL INGRATITUDE. 



63 



Soon after the affectionate mother, happening to come 
into a room where this daughter was sitting, very natur- 
ally and unconsciously sat down beside her, as she had 
been wont to do. A moment or two afterward the 
daughter turned round in a rage and rebuked her, ex- 
claiming, "How dare you sit in my presence? Do you 
not know that I am a free woman and you are a slave?" 

How^ often in this land that boasts that the shackles 
of the slave are broken does it occur that parents are 
the slaves of their children in everything but in name. 
The love for the child prompts the parent to self-denial 
in the extreme, and then, when the child is grown and 
has formed associations that are not congenial to the 
highest welfare, the son or daughter repays the debt 
of gratitude by resorting to that most unpardonable of 
crimes — ingratitude. This feeling of ingratitude steals 
by degrees over the soul until the parent is subjected to 
the conditions* that become the servant and slave. 

The young man that refers to his father as the old 
man and to his mother as the old w^oman may be igno- 
rant of the fact, but there is no mistake about it that he is 
not the grateful son that he should be, and is in great 
danger of moving down the inclined plane that ends 
in recklessness. The young woman that can enter so- 
ciety and enjoy the fashions and fleeting pleasures of 
youth while her mother is by necessity compelled to lead 
a life of drudgery at home may awake to real facts when 
it is too late, when regret of the past will not efface from 
the mind the acts that made her an ungrateful daughter. 

Young man, young woman, your parents will soon 
leave you. Nothing will so fill your life with true happi- 
ness as to know that you did your utmost to repay 
your parents for their self-denying life in order that you 
might prosper. 



64 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




His sous made themselves vile and lie restraiued tliem nut.— JSamiiel. 
PARENTAL NEGLECT. 

Be v\-akeful. be vigilant; 

Danger may be 
At an hour when all seemetli 

Securest to thee. 

— Caroline Bowles Soiuhny. 

A father took his little girl of a few summers out 
walking one pleasant afternoon. In their rambles they 
foimd themselves near a ledge of rocks. The tempting 
breeze caused the father to sit down to enjoy it. Almost 
unconsciously he fell asleep. The little girl amused her- 
self in picking flowers and grasses. A'enturing nearer 
to the edge of the rock, and looking down, she saw a 
beautiful flower, as she supposed, just within her reach. 
Stooping down and leaning over she grasped the Rower, 
but in so doing she lost her hold and fell into the depths 



PARENTAL NEGLECT. 



65 



below. Her cry of anguish as she feU awoke her father, 
who, hastening to her rehef, could do nothing but pick 
up the lifeless form of his loved one, with the little hand 
still clutching the flower. The regret and remorse of a 
lifetime could not cancel the efi^ect of that moment of 
neglect. 

There are other parents whose children are in dan- 
ger, morally and spiritually, of pitfalls more destructive 
than any precipice. The parents who permit their chil- 
dren to run at large without knowing what company 
they are in, or who permit their children to be out at 
night v/ithout knowing where they are, may be awaked 
from their slumber of neglect by the cry of anguish 
that comes from a lost or ruined life. 

Parents may think that their children are able to 
judge for themselves, that they are too wise or too 
cautious to permit their foothold to be lost, that they 
are too well trained to yield to the temptations to evil, that 
they no longer need the care and oversight of earlier 
years. They may, however, find that in unguarded mo- 
ments an enemy has been sowing seeds that are spring- 
ing up and are yielding a harvest of tares. 

The public was recently informed of a youth of a 
well trained Christian family whose parents led a very 
busy Hfe. They were satisfied that "our boys are all 
virtuous and have no' bad habits." Imagine their sur- 
prise to find that a promising son had almost ruined 
himself by cigarette smoking. Although under their 
daily care, they had not observed that bad companions 
were misleading one of their household until the ruinous 
effects of the cigarette had left its mark upon him. 

This circumstance suggests the care necessary in 
training the young. How frequently the case that the 
young man or young woman has fallen over the preci- 
pice before the parents are aware of any danger! 

5 



66 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




That ye should follow his steps.— St, Peter. 

PARENTAL INFLUENCE. 

A little boy and his father were walking through a 
garden where there were tender vines. 

"Now, papa," says Ned. "you be careful 
That you step in just the right place, 

For right in your footsteps Fm stepping." 
"Ah! that," sighed the father "is the case." 

Let's stop now and think ere we journey, 

Would we travel the road just ahead 
If we knew that our own cherished darlings 

Would follow the path we have led? 

— Ada Clarke. 



A good story is told by Dr. Johnson of a father 
hearing the voice of his child behind him as he was pick- 



PARENTAL INFLUENCE. ()7 

ing his way carefully along the mountainside, "Take a 
safe path, papa; I'm coming after you." Ah! if older 
Christians, while passing along the rugged hill of life, 
would only remember that young Christians and chil- 
dren are coming on after them, how much more circum- 
spect would they be concerning the path taken. Would 
any father visit the theater, the gambling saloons, the 
tavern, the place of licentiousness, holding his little 
l)oy by the hand? Will Christian parents permit them- 
selves to frequent doubtful places of any kind with the 
almost dead certainty that their children will follow them 
there? Will unconverted parents continue to press on 
their downward course while they hear the little feet of 
their darlings pattering after them? Will anyone allow 
himself to mislead a little child? 

"What will you take?" was the question asked an 
observant boy at table, and referring to the drink he 
might desire. 

'T will take what father takes." The father had re- 
ceived from the waiter a glass of intoxicating drink. 

The father heard the boy's remark, set aside his 
glass, and called for water. 

The saddest of all experiences is the consciousness 
that an opportunity for right doing has been lost. 

Fathers and mothers, your opportunity in behalf of 
your boys and girls is to-day — no-du! Don't let it slip 
from you. 

Our opportunity is to-day. Voltaire made the age 
of five the limit inside which character substantially is 
settled. That limit cannot be set with safety very far 
ahead. I don't want to be so absorbed in the cares and 
pursuits of my generation as to forget the next. 



68 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Shew thyself a man.— David. 
THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER AND HERO. 

Our hem, the Christian, stands out with a hehnet 
of salvation on his head, a shield of faith on his arm, 
shoes of gospel peace on his feet, his loins girt about 
with truth, a breastplate of righteousness, the sword of 
the spirit in his hand. Such a soldier does not enjoy 
lying about the fort; he likes the open air of the battle- 
field where courageous deeds are to be done. 

We frequently associate heroism with daring deeds 
in time of danger or with the clash of bayonet and boom 
of cannon on the battlefield, but there are heroes of a 
still higher order. Our day needs heroes in all the walks 
of life. The heroic Christian soldier rises above what the 
world calls fame and success. He has the courage to 



THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER AND HERO. 



69 



withstand every evil, and, although beaten back and dis- 
comfited, is ready to stand single-handed, if need be, 
bearing every attack upon Christian manhood. 

Many a modern young man has an inordinate 
hankering after publicity. Some would crown as heroes 
the winners in a game of baseball or football, where very 
little brains and no moral worth are required. The effort 
of our daily papers is disgusting and ruinous to our 
}'Outh. Heroes, did I say? These are not heroes. 
Higher, purer, nobler and more worthy are the aspira- 
tions of the royal manhood of to-day. JMoral worth is 
the true measure by which every man's stature is de- 
termined. England's prince is no longer great because 
he is a prince. Every man is measured by what he 
is. Everyone has in himself the possibilities 
of Christian manhood. A sound mind, a w^ell-balanced 
judgment, an inflexible purpose, a magnanimous soul, 
together with a never-yielding faith in a Divinity that 
shapes our ends will, yea, must, make a hero of any 
young man. floral heroes! Spiritual heroes! These 
are the birthright of every American citizen, the heritage 
of every man and woman. Do not sigh for an oppor- 
tunity of exhibiting valor. To rise requires an ef¥ort. 
Any man can slide down hill. 

Of all heroes, God's heroes are the noblest. Heroes 
of long-suffering, forbearance and charity; heroes of 
unostentatious self-denial, of the household, lowly, toiling 
ones,chmbing mountains of sacrifice under heavy crosses, 
without a human hand held out in sympathy; men and 
women shut out from stimulating activities, faithfully 
performing earth's lower ministries, pointing souls to a 
purer, nobler life in Him wdio is our life. 

Eriend, you may be a hero; you ought to be one. 
Aw'ake the dormant powers within you. 

Be not like dumb, dnyen eatUe, 

Be a hero in the strife. — Longfellow. 



70 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




I will ascend above the heights of the clouds.— Isaiah, 
ABOVE THE CLOUDS. 

Alpine tourists tell of climbing peaks through the 
mists until they stand above them under the cloudless 
sky. In the valley beneath lies the waveless ocean of 
white fogs and vapors. Listening, they hear the chiming 
of bells and the sounds of life and labor below. Now 
and then a bird darts up out of the cloudy sea, perches on 
a crag and sings a glad song to greet the brightness, and 
then dives dow^n again and disappears. 

When in Madeira Mr. Corderoy rose early one 
morning, hoping to reach the summit of a certain moun- 
tain to gaze upon a magnificent scene and enjoy the 
balmy air. He had a servant with him and they had 
ascended about two thousand feet when a thick mist 
was seen descending upon them, quite obscuring the 



ABOVE THE CLOUDS. 



71 



whole face of the heavens. ^Ir. C — thought there was 
no chance left but at once to retrace their steps. As the 
cloud came nearer the guide ran on penetrating the mist 
and calling to Mr. C — ever and anon, 'Tress on, Mas- 
ter, press on! There is light beyond." He did press on, 
and in a few minutes the mist was passed, and they gazed 
upon a scene of transcendent beauty. All was bright 
and cloudless above; beneath was the almost level mist 
concealing the world below and glistening in the rays 
of the sun like a field of untrodden snow. Says Air. C — : 
"There was nothing between us and heaven. I have 
often thought since there was nothing like 'pressing on' 
in every trial of life, assured that although the mists of 
earth may hang around us at certain stages of our jour- 
ney, there is light beyond." 

Someone says that it is one of the mysteries of our 
life that genius, that noblest gift of God to man, is nour- 
ished by poverty. It is often necessary that man push 
on through the mists of poverty, adversity, and even 
persecution, before he reaches the clear sunlight of an 
elevated position of hopes and expectations fully realized. 
Succeeding centuries show the mighty purposes God was 
working out in the apparent failure and humiliation of 
some of the noblest men of the past. 

Paul wrote a number of his best epistles while con- 
fined in a prison at Rome. Bunyan wrote his "Pilgrim's 
Progress" on the untwisted paper used to cork the bot- 
tles of milk brought for his meals. The civil war re- 
vealed to us the strength of a Lincoln. Garrison and 
Wendell Phillips would probably never have been known 
had it not been for slavery. ]\Iilton was blind and poor 
when he produced his greatest works. 

Xoble, virtuous manhood persistently pushes 
through the mist and rises in the sunlight above the 
clouds. 



72 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Beware of covetousness.— St. Luke. 

THE DOG IN THE MANGER. 

'Tis strange the miser should his cares employ t 

To gain those riches he can ne'er enjoy; 

Is it less strange the prodigal should waste 

His wealth to purchase what he ne'er can taste? 

— Pope. 

v^^sop's Fable of the Dog in the Manger is old, but 
the subjects of application have by no means all passed 
away. The dog lay down to sleep in the fresh, sweet 
hay placed in the stall for the horse, and would not 
permit the horse to eat the hay, although he could not 
eat it himself. 

There are persons whose only happiness seems to 
be in the effort to keep others from the enjoyment of 
blessings to which they are entitled. This spirit often 



THE DOG IN THE MANGER. 



73 



exhibits itself even in childhood. "If I cannot have it, 
he shall not have it, -either," says the boy who is denied 
what may seem to be a pleasure to him. As the child 
grows up the same spirit accompanies it in the home, in 
the social circle, in business and even sometimes in the 
sacred pew. When this spirit takes hold of an indi- 
vidual it grows, and of all evils is the most treacherous. 
Many a man, when he begins to accumulate wealth, be- 
gins to acquire this spirit of covetousness. The miser 
does not in hoarding his dollars gain happiness. Every 
dollar added to his pile increases the covetous spirit. He 
does not enjoy his wealth, and he envies those who make 
good use of their means. With him it is get, get, get. 
Others may perish or suffer for lack of food, but he has 
no heart in anything except to acquire and to hold. What 
is most to be guarded against is the first approaches of 
this spirit. Selfishness and self-gratification lead to it. 
No one should be wrapped up in his own interests to 
the extent that he loses all interest in the rights and 
happiness of others. Once this spirit gains possession 
of an individual and he is always ready with excuses for 
his conduct. 

James, who ate all the grapes, excused himself by 
saying that when he had eaten half he happened to think 
that he had eaten his sister's half instead of his own, and 
expressed sorrow for his sister. This boy's excuse is as 
plausible as is that of many kindred selfish spirits. 

In what strange contrast is the spirit that seeks to 
make others happy — a spirit that has actuated all great 
and prominent men and women that have been a blessing 
to the world. Study the lives of great men and women 
of the past and then seek to acquire their spirits, and you 
will never be in danger of the dog-in-the-manger spirit. 



74 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Charitj' siiffereth long.— St. Paul, 
CHARITY. 

Don't look for the flaws as you go through life, 

And even when you find them 
It's wise and kind to be somewhat blind, 

And look for the virtue behind them. 

—Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

Judge not; 

What looks to thy dim eyes a stain 
In God's pure light may only be 
A scar brought from some ell-won field. 
Where thou wouldst only faint and yield. 

—Adelaide Proctor. 

Alexander the Great had an ugly scar on his fore- 
head, received in battle. \Mien an eminent artist was 
requested to paint his portrait, he said: ''If I retain the 
scar it will be an offense to the admirers of the monarch, 
and if I omit it it will fail to be a perfect likeness — what 



CHARITY. 



75 



shall I do?" He hit upon a happ}' expedient. He 
sketched the emperor leaning on his elbow, with his 
forefinger on his brow, covering the scar upon his fore- 
head. There was the likeness with the scar hidden. 

Thus should we study to paint each other with the 
finger of charity upon the scar of a brother, hiding the 
ugly mark and revealing only the beautiful and the good. 

A young lady was giving concerts in the provinces 
of Germany, and added to her renown by announcing 
herself as a pupil of the celebrated Liszt. Arriving at 
a small provincial town she advertised herself in the 
usual way, but to her astonishment learned later that 
Liszt was included in the list of new arrivals at the hotel. 
Her deception would now be exposed. In her despair 
she adopted the wisest course, and went direct to the 
great musician himself and acknowledged her great 
wrong and humbly implored his forgiveness. Learning 
more of her history as an orphan struggling with pov- 
erty, he asked her to rise and play a piece intended for 
her proposed concert. He stood near and gave her ad- 
vice and suggestions, and. when it was concluded, said: 
"Xow, my child, I have given you a music lesson. You 
are a pupil of Liszt, and you will please to add to your 
programme another piece and announce that you will 
be assisted by your master, and that the last piece will 
be played by the Abbe Liszt." Could any reproof be 
keener than such forgiving kindness — such noble gen- 
erosity as this? But Charity is ingenious in covering 
"a multitude of sins.'' 

At the battle of Fredericksburg many L^nion soldiers 
were lying wounded on the field for more than a day. 
A Southern soldier took a supply of water and went 
down among the wounded and relieved their sufTerings. 
Both armies suspended hostilities for more than an hour 
to give this brave youth ao opportunity to carry on his 
act of mercy. 



76 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




The people ?hall labor in Tain.— Jeremiah. 
FRUITLESS LABORS. 



Here we see a little boy raking in a hayfield. He 
is apparently imitating the men. He goes through the 
motions, but in one respect he fails. The teeth of the 
rake are turned upward. The raking is much easier 
this way, but he gathers no hay. He labors, but his 
labor is in vain. 

How like this little boy is the labor of many people. 
They apparently are always busy but never get anything 
accomplished. Their labor amounts to nothing because 
it means nothing to them, or because there is no definite 
grip of purpose in what they do. 

Everything depends upon the spirit with which we 
work. A keen obsen^er said, in passing a building that 
was in process of construction, *T can always tell whether 
those fellows are doing "time work' or 'piece work.' In 
one case the blows of their hammers drag along slowly, 
and seem to say. 'By the day, b}' the day;' in the other 



FRUITLESS LABORS. 



77 



case the hammers strike briskly, and say, 'By the job, 
by the job.' " The spirit that prompts our actions is 
manifest to those around us, whether we are conscious 
of it or not. The work that counts carries with it the 
energy and best hfe of the worker, where the teeth of a 
fixed purpose are set downward, and where the raking 
is for resuhs. 

There are men in every occupation, men toiling for 
bread, men attempting to secure a home, manufacturers, 
mechanics, men of leisure, students, men in reform work, 
men in Sabbath-school and church work, as well as 
women in the various occupations which they till, who 
do much, if not all, of their raking with the teeth turned 
upward. AMiile the raking is easier, they never gather 
anything, and having nothing of the inspiration that 
comes from visible and tangible results, their life-work 
becomes monotonous and void of interest. 

In happy contrast is the work of those whose en- 
ergies are all absorbed in a determination to win in life's 
great struggle at any cost. The work ma}' be humble 
and the chances may seem to be against us, and yet when 
the teeth of a resolute purpose are set into the work 
something must come to pass. 

Kitto was a deaf pauper. A hopeless case, you say, 
and yet he became one of the greatest of Biblical scholars 
of his age. Disraeli, the young Hebrew, when hissed 
from the House of Commons, said: "The time will come 
when you will hear me." True to his purpose he forced 
his way through race prejudice and surprised England 
itself as he stood at the head of that nation. Henry 
Fawcett, England's most popular Postmaster-General, 
lost both of his eyes when quite young. To his grief- 
stricken father, who had, while hunting, shot him in the 
eyes, he said: "Never mind, father, blindness shall not 
interfere with my success in life." 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




The path of the just is as the shining light.— Solomon. 
UPWARD STEPS. 
A uohle deed is a ^tep toward heaven.— Holland. 

Even- man has the capabihty of choice. He must 
choose for himself whether his hfe shall tend upward or 
downward. . Xo one can face upward and step in that 
direction unless he is sincere. Sincerity is the first step 
to virtue and noble manhood. This quality is essential. 
\\ ithout it a man is not a man ; without it no really great 
work was ever achieved. Look at aU the really great 
and good men. Why do we call them great and good? 
Because they dare to be sincere: they dare to be what 
they seem to be. 

A\ ith this quality in possession, faith in God leads 
upward. A\ ith every advancing step the view is en- 



UPWARD STEPS. 



79 



largecl and the sphere of usefuhiess is increased. The 
eve mu'sr. however, be kept upward. ^laoy have failed 
here in supposnig that real success means gaining weaUh 
or doing something unusuah This is a faL-e standard 
and has ensnared many. lie is the most of a man who 
enriches the hves of those around him. who hves not 
for himself but for others. 

A traveler, once fording the Susquehanna on horse- 
back, became so dizzy as to be near losing his seat. Stid- 
denly he received a blow on his chin from a hunter who 
was his companion, with the words. '"Look up I" He 
did so and recovered his balance. Looking on the turbu- 
lent water endangered his life, and looking up saved it. 

Xo man is safe in taking a look downward, jtist 
this once. That look may cost him his standing- place, 
and which the earnest effort of the remainder of his life 
may never regain. Did you never write a letter, and just 
as you were finishing it let your pen fall on it. or a drop 
of ink blot the fair page? It was the work of a moment, 
but the evil could not be entirely eft'aced. Lord Broug- 
ham one day occupied a conspicuous place in a group 
to have his photograph taken, but at an unfortunate 
moment he moved. The picture was taken, but his face 
was blurred. It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, 
but only a moment to destroy it. This suggests that no 
man is safe unless he continues his course upward, 
^lany have risen high in the steps leading to true man- 
hood and Godliness, but in an unguarded moment they 
looked downward and fell. Almost any community can 
cite such a case. Look upward, young man, Find 
your place in life and fill it. Choose upward, ever to- 
ward that which is elevating and ennobling. Let vour 
ambition be to be remembered, not as a great scientist, 
lawyer, scholar, doctor,, or merchant, but as a great tiian, 
every inch a man, a Christian gentleman. 



80 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Going down to the chambers of death.— Solomon. 
DOWNWARD STEPS. 

A man need not be a philosopher to roll down hill. 
Going down is easy when once the mind is made up not 
to go upward. A downward course is generally pre- 
ceded or begun by indulging in vain thoughts and har- 
boring them. No man who indulges in idle and evil 
thoughts can go upward. Here is where quite fre- 
quently the fatal mistake is made. Our thoughts are 
ever forming our characters, and whatever they are most 
absorbed in will tinge our lives. 

Let vain thoughts once enter and control the mind 
and evil desires at once spring up. Having taken the 
first step it is easier to take the second. 



When to mischief mortals bend their will, 
How soon they find fit instruments of ill. 



—Pope. 



DOWNWARD STEPS. 



81 



Deception, self-deception and deception of others, 
then natnraUv fohows. The individual reasons with 
himself that the sin to which evil desires prompt is bnt a 
small affair of which one can easily repent at any time 
and be forgiven. Or it may be considered not as a sin 
but as a human weakness. Deceptive reasoning sug- 
gests something like the following All men have their 
failings. I have mine. Why do I have these desires, 
unless they are to be gratified?" By this method of 
reasoning all aventies to truth are closed and the h^art 
becomes hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. and 
then it is an easy matter to violate a plain command of 
God with little or no self-condemnation. Wdien once 
self-deception has taken hold of man, his eyes are closed 
to the light and his mind becomes blinded and insensi- 
ble to the truth of God. The downward steps are tlien 
easy, whether it be strong drink, lewdness, or any other 
form of evil, destruction just as certainly awaits him. 
while the arch-fiend is waiting in joyous glee to welcome 
him. 

After the downward course is begun it is an easy 
matter to throw oft" all sense of shame and to bid defiance 
to all threatenings against sin. 

Charles Lamb, one of the brightest spirits quenched 
by drink, wrote mournfully: "Could the youth to whom 
the flavor of his first glass was delicious look into mv 
desolation and be made to understand what a drearv 
thing it is when a man feels himself going down a preci- 
pice, with open eye and a passive will, to see his de- 
struction, and not to have the power of will then to stop 
it, and yet to feel it all the way emanating from himself: 
to perceive all goodness emptied out of him and yet not 
to be able to forget the time when it was otherwise — 
how he would avoid the first temptation to drink!'' 

6 



82 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Hide me under the shadow of thy wings.— Psalmist. 

YOUR SHADOW. 

A wad some power the gifttie gie ns 
To see ourselves as ithers see us. 

—Burns. 

Miss Smuller in a little poem represents Mr. and 
Mrs. Wren intending- to build a nest in a quiet place. 
While sitting on a twig over the water Mrs. Wren is 
made to say: 

"But do look down, my dear, and see: 
Two other birds! Who can they be? 
That's what I'd like to know. 
How aggravating! Who are you 

Who dare to trespass thus? 
There's only room enough for two. 
I thought that everybody knew 

This place belonged to us. 



YOUR SHADOW. 



83 



Don't nod your head at me, I pray, 

How cross you do appear! 
Come, Mr. Wren, we'll go away; 
I'm sure I have no wish to stay 

With scolding neighbors near. 

Ah, there they go! Well, then, my dear, 

Of course, we'd better stay. 
Now I reflect, it's all quite clear. 
Just yield a point, and there's no fear 

But you will have your way." 

"Only shadows" sometimes separate firm friends. 
Shadows may be a blessing or a curse. It depends al- 
together upon what use we make of them. Standing 
in the light the dark prospect upon which we gaze 
may really be our own shadow. Shadows reveal defects. 

A little boy, on a moonlight night, thought he saw 
a ghost, and ran away from it as fast as he could. The 
faster he went the faster it followed. When he turned, it 
turned; until, at last, he tripped and fell, and then found 
out that it w^as his own shadow. 

Shadows reveal our good qualities as well as our 
defects. Happy is he who does not become vain in love 
of these. Lowell says that the wise old Greeks repre- 
sent the lovely youth Narcissus as resisting every charm 
until he came to look in a still, clear pool. It shone like 
a mirror. In it he saw his own beautiful form and fell 
in love with it, thinking it a deity. That love, necessarily 
unrequited, was his death, as all self love must ever be. 

While we may draw many profitable lessons from 
our own shadows, it is an encouraging thought that we 
may hide under the shadow of the Almighty. When the 
burning sun of oppression, criticism and false accusation 
is oppressing us in our onward course, we may find 
refuge beneath the "shadow of His wings." 



84 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




The foundation of God standeth sure.— St. Paul. 
FOUNDATIONS. 
Don't risk a life structure upon a day's foundation. — 

The Scripture likeness of a house built on the rock 
and of a house built on the sand is very familiar, never- 
theless the looking after foundations is as much neg- 
lected to-day as ever. 

The government building at Chicago, a large, mass- 
ive structure and apparently well built, so that it might 
stand for a century, was recently torn down, not because 
the superstructure was not firm, but because the founda- 
tion at several places was found faulty. Thus, at a 
great expense, the old building is removed and a nev/ 
structure is erected, all because the foundation was not 
safe. Men fail of their best efiforts because they were 
unwilling to prepare well in days when preparation was 
the one duty. 



FOUNDATIONS. 



85 



The foundation for greatness must be laid in youth. 
Young men frequently make a serious mistake here. 
I'hey are content with following the pleasures of youth 
instead of improving early opportunities for preparation 
for life's great work. Wellington frequently said that 
Waterloo was fought and won while he was a school- 
boy. It was w^hat he learned then that prepared him 
for that great battle. Inattention tO' the foundation has 
ruined many a structure. Inattention to the intellectual 
and moral development and preparation has ruined many 
a life. — 

See yon building rise. While men were engaged in 
laying the foundation there was nothing attractive about 
it. Dirt and stones and mortar are not sightly objects. 
It is only when the superstructure is rising that the at- 
tention of the passer-by is given to it. This is why not 
more attention is given to foundation work. Many a 
youth who has attracted attention by doing work suc- 
cessfully thinks that his foundation is sure, and looks 
only to the superstructure. Many a college graduate 
has dreamed of greatness while delivering his final ora- 
tion as the applause of friends greets his ear; but too often 
he is never heard of afterward. Life consists of more 
real and earnest things than brilliant graduating orations. 

Do not mistake the applause of others as success. 
Avoid the idol which many worship — the love of noto- 
riety and applause. Look tO' the foundations, intellec- 
tually, make thorough preparation for your life work, 
morally, shun even the appearance of evil, spiritually, 
build on Christ, the only foundation. 

BuiJcl it well, whate'et* you do; 
Build it straight and strong and true; 
Build it clean and high and broad; 
Build it for the eye of God. 

— Marden. 

but first of all look to the foundations. 



86 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




His hands refuse to labor.— Solomon. 
TRAMPS. 

Here we have a scene at once practical and of every- 
dav occurrence. To sav that these men are discussing 
the issues of the day seems hidicrous, and yet that is 
what they are presuming to do. The man that is not 
wiUing to earn a Hving by honest labor generally has a 
panacea for every ill brought about by idleness and pov- 
erty. The word tramp ought, however, to have a wider 
application, as suggested in the following story: 

A conceited young European who came to America 
complained that he found no "upper classes" here. An 
American asked him what he meant by the "upper 
classes," and he explained that he referred to those who 
had never done any work, nor their fathers before them. 
"Oh," said the American, "we have many of that class 
of persons here, but we call them by a dif¥erent name ; we 
call them tramps." The reply was just, for the most re- 
spectable thing in the world is honest labor. 

\A'hile there are many who refuse to labor, preferring 
the idleness of the tramp to an honest living, there are 



TRAMPS. 



87 



among the class called tramps not a few who, if they 
knew how to fmd employment, would gladly engage in 
honest toil. There are unfortunate ones who have not 
had opportunities, and are not able to help themselves, 
and who might be converted into industrious, respecta- 
ble and honorable citizens, were a helping hand extended 
to them. 

The hand of charity is too sparingly extended, as 
suggested by a story of a Western deacon. A tramp 
came to his door one day and begged for some bread. 
The deacon took him in, lectured him on the sinfulness 
of his life, and finally asked him if he knew the Lord's 
rVayer. The tramp did not. The deacon offered to 
teach it to him, while he cut some slices of bread. "Our 
Father" — he began. "What!" said the tramp, "is he 
your Father and my Father?" "Yes," answered the 
deacon. "Then, brother," was the unexpected retort, 
"couldn't you cut that slice a little thicker?" Words of 
encouragement would revolutionize the lives of many of 
these unfortunate ones. 

Then, again, many have been dragged down by the 
awful power of appetite. Are all these beyond rescue? 
Yes, if the more fortunate ones make no effort to help 
them break the power that binds them. It is frequently 
the case that the influence or disinterestedness of others 
tends to hurl them into still greater depths. Poor fellows! 
Are there not thousands that can be rescued before they 
reach that point? Let us be careful how we treat even 
a tramp. Kindness may save him. 

There are spiritual tramps. They go wandering 
around from church to church, making a home nowhere, 
doing no work in any church. They follow sweet ser- 
mons, fine singing and the last sensation. They have 
never decided where they want to settle, and are rightly 
called spiritual tramps. 



88 TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




ASSUMED SIZE. ACTUAL SIZE. 

They love the praise of men more than the praise of God.— St. John. 
EGOTISM. 

One of the largest and weakest qualities in man is his egotism.— Swing. 

Egotism is the nomination and the election and coronation of self as 
king.— Swing. 

"Do not sound a trumpet before thee as the hypo- 
crites do," says Jesus to his followers. This custom 
seems to have prevailed in the East, but has not been 
confined to that locality. The only difference between 
the men of that day and this is that the form of the 
trumpet is chang-ed. The spiritual egotist is represented 
by the following: "Mr. Brown, what is the s.tate of re- 
ligion in your town?" "Bad, sir; very bad. There are 
no Christians except Mr. Davis and myself, and I have 
my doubts about Davis." 

It is said that the egotism of Napoleon never per- 



EGOTISM. 



89 



mitted him to acknowledge guilt. While he spent much 
of his time on St. Helena in talking of himself and his 
career, he referred to his transgressions as indifferent 
acts, but never expressed a regret nor showed uneasiness 
of mind nor remorseful feelings. 

Kneller, the artist, once said to a sitter, "Flatter me, 
my dear sir ; I paint better when you flatter me." 

Surpassing all these in vanity is the exclamation of 
Farinelli, the noted musician. ''What a divine air!" said 
an admirer to him, when he ceased playing. "Yes," said 
the Italian, as he laid down his violin, "one God, one 
Farinelli." 

A man was asked why he talked to himself so much. 
"Well," said he, "there are two reasons. In the first 
place I like to talk to a sensible man, and in the second 
place I like to hear a sensible man talk." 

Another said: "There are two things that bother 
me. One is how the world got on before I came into it, 
and the other is how it is going to get on after I leave it." 

Few things are harder than to admit unreserv,edly 
that we are in the wrong, and thus our arch enemy 
makes our self-conceit a vehicle of deadly calamity. 

There are people who go about complaining of ill- 
usage received from others and declare themselves vic- 
tims of bad luck that makes their best endeavor of no 
avail, and even forces them to the commission of terrible 
crimes ; when, if they only had the faculty so aptly de- 
scribed by Burns as. seeing ourselves as others see us, 
human foes and adverse fortunes would disappear from 
view behind the apparition of self, a hidden, strong and 
relentless enemy. 

The egotist is never happy. He is bent on worship- 
ing himself and is always living in fear lest someone 
else receive the praise due him. Other people with their 
interests are unimportant compared with self. 



90 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Presumptuous are they, self-willed.— St. Peter. 

PRESUMPTION. 

None pities him that's in the snare, 
And warned before, would not beware, 

— Herriek. 

The presumptuous man is overconfident, self-willed, 
blind, headstrong, venturesome without reasonable pros- 
pect of success and heedless of the usual probabilities of 
safety. Rash, adventurous, foolhardy, he is ever ready 
to assume too much, and thus brings upon himself the 
evil effects which are but the natural results of exposing 
oneself to danger. 

In the above illustration this man proposes to enjoy 
the so-called pleasure of ease and self-gratification, even 
though he knows that he is in imminent danger of being 
torn up by wild beasts. 

The presumptuous man is ever ready to apologize 



PRESUMPTION. 



91 



for a rash act by the expression, "I did not think." He 
does not wait to examine into the safety and security of 
investments, but impeUed by first impressions he acts 
hastily and repents afterward.. For examples, note the 
numerous victims of mining, lottery and other schemes 
whereby it is presumed that fabulous wealth comes by 
the turning of the hand. How many would have saved 
themselves from the pangs of remorse, poverty and hard 
labor had they but taken a second thought. 

Cotton Mather used to' say that there was a gentle- 
man mentioned in the nineteenth chapter of Acts to 
whom he was often and greatly indebted — viz., the town 
clerk of Ephesus, whose counsel was, ''Do nothing 
r a silly'' 

This is not only good advice, but, if heeded, would 
l)ring untold blessings and avert numerous calamities 
among all classes of men. The young man in seeking 
pleasure or employment, the merchant and business 
man in making investments, the professional man in fol- 
lowing his calling, all will profit by consulting the "town 
clerk of Ephesus." 

The man that is controlled by evil and sinful in- 
fiuences is full of presumption. It blinds his eyes, it 
hardens his heart, it sears his conscience, it fascinates his 
imagination, it perverts his judgment, it gives a wrong 
bias to the will, it effaces from the memory recollections 
of the beautiful and the good and hides from his view 
his guilt, his danger and his immortality. The path of 
sinful pleasure is strewn with Plutonian flowers, whose 
odors stupefy the senses and make the victim dream of 
happiness that he will never enjoy. "Rejoice, O 
young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart cheer thee 
in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine 
heart, and in the sight of thine eyes ; but know thou that 
for all these things God will bring thee into judgment." 



92 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Meddle not with them . . . given to change. — Solomon. 
THE CHAMELEON. 

Here is an animal not as attractive as it might be, 
but the study of it is nevertheless interesting. It is 
called the chameleon and is found in Madagascar and 
Africa. It is a lizardlike reptile. It has what is called 
a prehensile tail, by means of which it can fasten itself to 
the limb of a tree. It has the power to change its color 
more or less with the color of the objects about it or 
wi|h its temper when disturbed. In a cool, dark place it 
is nearly white or grayish, on admitting the light it 
changes to brown, bottle-green or blood-red of various 
shades and more or less mottled in arrangement. All 
movements of its body are slow, except that of its 
tongue, which moves with a great velocity in catching 
insects. The glutinous secretion on its tongue helps it 
in capturing insects. It has air sacs in different parts 
of the body. These are connected with its large lungs, 



THE CHAMELEON. 



93 



and when full of air the animal looks bloated; the next 
minute it may appear lean and shrunken, having emptied 
these sacs. The story that the chameleon lives on air 
gained currency partly from this circumstance, and 
partly from the almost invisible quickness of motion of 
the tongue. 

But what of this animal? What lessons does it 
teach us? Who cannot make the application? Is it true 
that in politics, in religion, in morals, in disposition and 
in appearance there are chainclcons in the human race, 
those who are constantly changing and ever changeable? 
Figuratively speaking, we find men who change their 
color with every passing breeze, or, like the chameleon, 
may look bloated one minute and shrunken the next. 
There seem to be not a few men, and women, too, who 
are afflicted seriously with the "universal joint." It is 
very difficult to find where such individuals stand, and 
when we think we find them, in the language of the 
Irishman, "They are not thar." 

Take, for example, the elections in our large cities. 
One party carries the day by an overvsdielming majority, 
and the very next election gives the opposite party just 
as large a majority. 

In the church this chameleon swells to full size on 
all prominent occasions, but in the prayer meeting and 
when works of charity are to be engaged in the lean 
and shrunken condition is assumed. In the presence of 
the church the garment of light is worn, vTiile in the 
home, in business and in the daily routine of duty it 
takes a darker hue. Have you ever seen anything that 
resembles this chameleon? Anything that changes its 
appearance to suit the occasion? Do not look too far 
away from home for it. 



94 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




I sought for a man that should stand in the gap.— Ezekiel. 
STANDING IN THE GAP. 

There are gaps to fill. These may be filled by ex- 
posing oneself for the protection of something, by 
making defense against assailing danger. Filling a gap 
may consist in a word of comfort to a sorrowing one, a 
look of sympathy toward a discouraged one, an expres- 
sion of interest in a disheartened one struggling 
against temptation, doubt and unbelief. It may be the 
extending of the helping hand to the downtrodden or 
oppressed, or the elevating of the moral tone of a com- 
munity, a society, or a church. It may be the suppres- 
sion of an evil, the breaking of the bread of life to the 
dying or the rescuing of a single soul. It may be a 
young AlcCall giving himself for Africa's teeming 
multitudes, or it may be the quiet, unassuming worker, 
who, in narrower and unknown circles, is just as freely 
giving his life to save and to elevate his fellow-man. It 



STANDING IX THE (^AP. 



95 



mav be the struggling father who is laboring beyond his 
strength to feed, to clothe, to sustain the little ones 
Vvhom he loves better than his own life, or the toiling 
mother whose intense love for her children causes her 
to give her own life rather than that they should suffer 
for food or for anythnig that may hinder the develop- 
ment of possibilities = 

\Miatever the gap it ought to be tilled. It is hon- 
orable to nil gaps. It is written of Closes that he stood 
in the breech to turn awa}' the anger of the Lord from 
the children of Israel. Sometimes it is difficult to iind 
men who are willing to stand in the gap to ward off 
individual, social, political, moral or spiritual evils. 
Such a case is recorded in the Divine Word. 

Why these openings that are not filled? AMiy, at 
the close of this century, blessed and chosen of God, 
should there be any of earth's wanderers who become 
a prey to his foes because there is no one to give a word 
of cheer, a look of approbation, an encouraging stimu- 
lus to withstand evil? Why a scarcity of social, politi- 
cal and religious reformers? Why an absence of en- 
thusiastic effort in so many lines of benevolent and re- 
ligious work? Why a scarcity of means and workers in 
home and foreign missions? Because men are not will- 
ing to stand in the gap. A\dth some this means, "'Here 
am I. send me." and with others it means. ''Here is my 
pocketbook. take it."' The gaps or openings to be filled 
to-day are not for men, but each opening is awaiting 
a )]ia)h who is not to lie down or sit down, but to 
stand in the gap and. if need be. defend that gap at the 
risk of his life. 

Why should not you be that man? 



96 



TllAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Diotrephes loveth to have the preeminence.— St. John. 
SEEKING PROMOTION. 

The race of Diotrephes is unfortunately not extinct. 

What a strife there is among men for these "chief 
rooms" of this world! ¥Low men wrangle, and debate, 
and bribe, and sell their manhood for some seat in the 
legislature, or a petty ofiice in a county seat! And what 
of this selling of what is honorable and good, to get 
into what is considered by the world's people as 
''first class society," or to be a leader of fashion, or 
of our club, or society. How comes this infatuation 
to be boss, leader, ruler, dictator, and have chief 
seats and first places? How comes this strange thirst 
to be richer than our neighbor, better dressed, able 
to put on style, belong to a ''set" in society where 
only a few can go? This mad self-preference which can 



SEEKING PrxOMOTION. 



97 



be content to see thousands suffer while we founder at 
a milhonaire table? Oh, what is this abnormal pos- 
session of humanity which can be content to live on 
the sufferings and tears of another part of humanity? 
There is an assumption of superiority in this rush for 
the upper seat in the world which betokens a self- 
assumed, presumptuous idea of fitness for the place. This 
of itself betokens a certain measure of unfitness. The 
one most worthy of the place is called to it. He does 
not put himself in it. The place calls for him. It is 
not hi's rush for it. Moses, David, Gladstone, Lincoln, 
were demanded for these high callings. On the part of 
neither was there insane seeking, wire-pulling and in- 
trigue to get into office. To be worthy of a place is a 
first qualification. To have the place call you is a sec- 
ond. — Isaiah Reid. 

Then again, it is never honorable to rise to position 
and fame by pulling down others. If you cannot rise 
without pulling down others, it is more honorable to 
remain on the lower rounds of the ladder. Many men 
have concluded that they were fitted for a place, and, 
in pushing upward, have learned their mistake with sad 
results. If we are faithful where we are and con- 
tinue in building up a noble character God will look 
after our promotions. True promotion depends 
more upon worthy character than upon a mere op- 
portunity of an opening. 

Seeking promotion by the way of worth of character 
is honorable, but seeking it by way of scheming and 
wire-pulling never pays. Let others manipulate the 
chicanery of the party in political machines. Men may 
enthrone the unworthy; God never does. Rather be a 
crowned hero of God's and fill some humble place in 
life than wear the undeserving and unmerited garlands 
of honor, that will eventually lead to ruin. 

7 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




fort to scale the heights which only the eagle has visited. 
This party was studying the works of God in the rocks and 
flowers, as well as enjoying the beautiful scenery, which 
everywhere abounded. One of the enthusiastic botanists 
of tj:e party, in looking over the precipitous sides of the 
mountain, saw far below on a narrow ledge of pro- 
jecting rock some beautiful specimens of rare flowers, 
which he was very anxious to obtain. Xo one in the 
party would venture to secure these much desired blos- 
soms. Xear by were a father and son, Avith their faith- 
ful dogs, guarding a flock of sheep on the pasture slopes. 
They oft"ered the boy a large reward if he would con- 
sent to have a strong mountain rope tied around his 
body and to be lowered to pluck the flowers for them. 
I'he father at once consented, but the boy, although he 
was a fearless mountain climber, and had often been 



CONFIDENCE. 



99 



lowered over the dizzy crags to the sea-bird's nest, hesi- 
tated to accept even so Hberal an offer. The tourists 
attempted to show him that the rope was strong enough 
for half a dozen men His real fear was made apparent 
when, after gazing at the company and then at the 
strong, stalwart form of his father, he replied: 'T will, 
if my father holds the rope." This was agreed to, and 
the coveted flowers were soon obtained. 

Several valuable and practical lessons can be learned 
from the conduct and reply of this brave mountain boy 
who had such faith and confidence in his father's strength 
and love. 

In the busy scenes of life we are often called upon 
to place confidence in others. Well, if like the boy, we 
are not too eager to hazard life or property for a tempt- 
ing reward, without first carefully considering" whose 
word or arm is being trusted. i\Iany, by an overanxious 
desire to become wealthy, have placed confidence in de- 
signing, and unscrupulous persons, and have thereby 
brought upon themselves great loss or even utter ruin. 

The reply of the boy suggests the strong confidence 
that may be placed in those whom we find true. Then 
again, with Omnipotence upholding, there can be no 
place of duty too dangerous for anyone of us. When 
God's strong arm sustains us, what have we to dread? 
This noble boy who, without fear, hangs over the dizzy 
mountain crag, because his father's strong arm holds the 
rope, teaches us a lesson of trust in the "Everlasting 
Arms." When duty calls us to places of danger, where 
precaution may assail or death may threaten, why should 
we fear to face any foe, in labors to elevate humanity, 
as long as we have the assurance that there is willingness 
and abilitv in Him who savs, "Go ... I am with vou 
alway." 



100 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




hu hath gathered the vrmd in his fists'^— Solomon, 
CATCHIXG THE AMXD. 

The following is taken from Spurgeon's John Plow- 
man's Talks: 

1 ou cannot catch the wind in a net. Some people 
get windmills in their heads and go in for all sorts of 
silly things. They talk about ruling the nation, as if 
men were to be driven like sheep, and they prate of 
reforms and systems, as if they could cut out a world 
in brown paper with a pair of scissors. Such a body 
thinks himself very deep, but he is as shallow as a milk- 
pan. You can soon know him as well as if you had gone 
through him with a lighted candle, and yet you will not 
know a great deal after all. He has a great head, and 
very little in it. He can talk by the dozen, or the gross, 
and say nothing. AMien he is fussing and boasting of 



CATCHING THE WIND. 



101 



his fine doings, you soon discover that he makes a long 
harvest of very httle corn. His tongue is hke a pig's 
tail, going all day long, and nothing done. 

This is the man who can pay off the National debt, 
and yet. in his little shop, he sells two apples in three 
days: he has the secret of high farming, and loses more 
at it than any man in the country. The more he studies, 
the more he misses the mark. 

He is going to be rich next year, and you will then 
see what you shall see; just now he would be glad of 
half a crown on account, for which he will give you a 
share in his invention for growing wheat without plowing 
or sowing. 

It is odd to see this wise man at times when his wits 
are all up in the moon: he is like Chang, the Chinaman, 
who said: "Here's my umbrella, and here's my bundle, 
but zdicrc am I He cannot hud his spectacles, though 
he is looking through them: and Avhen he is out riding 
on his ass, he pulls up and says, "\Mierever is that 
donkey?'' 

I have heard of one learned man who boiled his 
watch and stood looking at the egg, and another who 
forgot that he Avas to be married that day, and would 
liave lost his lady if his friend had not fetched him 
out of his study. Think of that, my boy, and don't fret 
yourself because you are not so overdone with lea-rning 
as to have forgotten your common sense. 

The regular wind-catcher is soft as silk and as green 
as grass, and yet he thinks himself very long-headed ; and 
so indeed he would be if his ears were taken into the 
measurement. He is going to — well, there's no teUing 
what. He is full of wishes, but short of . will, and so his 
buds never come to flowers or fruit. 



102 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




WINKELRIED S STATUE. 



Neither count I my life dear unto myself. — St. Paul, 
PATRIOTISM. 

In 1836 the battle of Sempacli was fought between 
the Austrians and the Swiss. The Atistrians, armed with 
long lances, greatly outnumbered the Swiss, who were 
armed with short weapons. An unexpected movement 
of the Swiss surprised the Austrians, who prided them- 
selves in superiority of numbers and equipments. The 
Swiss, trusting in God, were confident of success, but 
sixty of their number were cut down before the Austrians 
lost a single man. Defeat was staring them in the face, 
when suddenly a brave and fearless Swiss changed the 
whole scene. Arnold von Winkelried, at this critical 
moment, stepped forward from the ranks, and, shouting 
to his comrades, "I will cut a road for you; take care 
of my wife and children," he dashed on the enemy, and, 
catching hold of as many spears as his arms could en- 



PATRIOTISM. 



103 



compass, he bore them to the ground with the whole 
weight of his body. His comrades rushed over his corpse, 
burst through the gap made in the Austrian ranks, and 
began a fierce hand-to-hand encounter with their clubs 
and battle-axes. The Austrians, impeded by their heavy 
armour and long lances, made a brave stand, but, becom- 
ing panic-stricken, were completely routed, losing in the 
fearful carnage that followed nearly three thousand men, 
while the Sv/iss loss was only one hundred and twenty. 
The heroic action of this Swiss patriot, Winkelried, is 
beautifully expressed in a poem by Montgomery, from 
which we cull the following lines: 

"Make way for Hberty!" he cried; 
Made way for liberty, and died! 
Few were the numbers she coukl boast, 
But every freeman was a host, 
And fek as though himself were he 
On whose sole arm hung victory. 

It did depend on one indeed. 
Behold him — Arnold Winkelried! 
There sounds not to the trump of fame 
The echo of a nobler name. 

"Make way for liberty!" he cried, 
Then ran with arms extended wide, 
As if his dearest friend to clasp; 
Ten spears he swept within his grasp. 
"Make way for liberty!" he cried; 
Their keen points met from side to side; 
He bowed among them like a tree, 
And thus made way for liberty. 

Swift to the breach his comrades fly; 

"Make way for liberty!" they cry, 

And through the Austrian phalanx dart, 

As rushed the spears through Arnold's heart; 

While instantaneous, as his fall, 

Rout, ruin, panic, scattered all; 

An earthquake could not overthrow 

A city with a surer blow. 



104 



TKAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Despise not tliy mother.— Solomon. 
ASHAMED OF HIS MOTHER. 



It is a sad day in the life of a boy when he is for any 
cause ashamed of his mother, and it is a day of keenest 
sorrow to a loving mother w^hen she is made to feel that 
her children are ashamed of her because she is lacking in 
any of the graces and acquired refinements of life. 

A story is told of a poor and ignorant woman who 
had the highest ambition for her son, her only child. She 
worked early and late at her loom as a weaver of rag 
carpets, she denied herself everything but the bare neces- 
sities of life, that Harry might go to school instead of 
working for his own and her support. She set herself 
resolutely to work to earn money to send him to college. 
She grew old and bent at her loom, but hers was a, 
labor of love and she never complained. 



ASHAMED OF HIS MOTHER. 



105 



"Vl\ have my pay for it all when I see Harry gradu- 
ate," she said. "It'll be the happiest day of my life if I 
live to see it." 

have to," she said, when her friends protested. 
''You know I'm going to see Harry graduate and I'll be 
obliged to have some clothes fit to wear. Then it'll 
cost a good bit to go to the college town where he is. 
And there's the new clothes for Harry to graduate 
in — I want him to look as nice as anybody. I must go 
to see him graduate. It's to be my pay for all the years 
and years I've worked so hard for him." 

But, alas! she did not see Harry graduate. In the 
midst of her preparation for the journey there came a 
letter from her boy, in which he frankly admitted that ''it 
might be embarrassing to both of us if you came to see 
me, you are so unused to the usages of city life ; and your 
country ways would be criticized in a manner that would 
be very annoying to us." 

The real meaning of the letter was but too apparent 
to her. He would be annoyed — he would be ashamed of 
her! She tried to believe that "Harr\' was right," but 
in her heart she felt the full force and bitter cruelty of 
the letter. Love could not blind her to it. She read 
it again and again through her tears, and then burned it, 
that no eyes but her own might ever read of her boy's dis- 
loyalty. And while the fire consumed it the cherished 
hope of years became as ashes also, and her heart re- 
ceived a wound that no lapse of time can ever heal. But 
there must come a day when her son will be made to 
feel the selfishness and sinfulness of ever having been 
ashamed of such a mother. 

How sharper than a serpent's tooth it is 
To have a thankless child.—Shakespeare. 



106 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Turn uot aside after vain things.— Solomon. 

VAIN PURSUITS. 

What boy has not at some time chased a butterfly? 
There is something attractive in the sport, even though 
he knows that his running is in vain. Many times he 
thinks he has overtaken the object of his pursuit, to 
find that it has escaped his grasp. At last it settles on 
a wall. Now he has it surely, for he has placed his hat 
right over it. But again, to his surprise, the golden tints 
on its wings attract his attention in the sunlight above. 
Still he pursues, now losing sight of it for a time, then 
again more certain than ever of success, as it lights upon 
a flower or shrub; but always meeting with the same 
result — just as he has it, it is gone. Repeated failures 
do not turn him away. Complete exhaustion alone com- 
pels him to give up his vain pursuit. 

How like the little boy are those who have reached 
mature years and who might, if they were to stop and 



VAIN PURSUITS. 



107 



think, profit greatly by the sports and anuisemcnts of 
childhood days. Like the boy, we do not see our folly 
until we have spent time, energy and money in gaining 
that which we never apprehend. 

Take for example the report of gold being found in 
the Klondike region. Thousands are ready to leave com- 
fortable surroundings and paying positions for the hard- 
ships and privations of that desolate region. And why? 
To gain that which not one of a thousand gains — wealth. 
It would seem that the hardships and failures of multi- 
tudes that went searching for gold in the days of the 
California gold fever, as well as the repeated failures of 
more recent dates, would suggest a more careful course 
to pursue. But the American mind is bold, daring and 
venturesome and will not profit by the experiences of 
others. Even for a butterfly-prospect of getting rich 
they, with open eyes, rush into extreme hardships and 
even death. 

What shall it profit a man if he gain all the gold on 
the banks of the Klondike and die of starvation in the 
midst of his treasure? 

Seeking wealth in the gold fields of Alaska is only 
one of the many vain pursuits that men follow. Others 
resort to chimerical speculations and visionary schemes 
which promise large returns, but the promise is the only 
reward given. 

Others again follow vain pursuits in pleasure which, 
if innocent, may award no further loss than that of valu- 
able time, but, too frequently, these pursuits lead to the 
way of death. The path may be innocent at first, but 
frequently it leads to prodigality, intemperance and im- 
morality. American manhood and womanhood is too 
noble and exalted to spend its energies on butterfly pur- 
suits, 



108 TRAITS OF CHARACTEIi. 




Ephraim is joined to his idols.— Hosea. 
HABITS. 

Habits are soon aissumed, but wlien we strive to strip t.hem off 
'tis being flayed alive.— Cowper. 

A faithful horse had done service for many years 
in a bark mill. At length he became old and blind and 
stiff. Kindness then prompted that he be turned out 
to pasture the remainder of his days. But, to the aston- 
ishment of his owner, every day, when it was time to 
work, the horse would start on a tramp, going round in 
a circle, just as he had been accustomed to do for so 
many years. Passers-by would stop and look at the old 
horse as he went around, just as if he was working as in 
days gone by. The force of habit had fixed itself upon 
him. 

Youth everywhere is forming habits either good or 
bad, and the future is largely determined by the habits 
acquired in early life. The idle, careless youth becomes 



HABITS. 



109 



the profligate, worthless man. The careful, temperate, 
industrious youth becomes the strong, reliable and trusty 
man. As a rule, men do not become truly great when 
bound down by evil habits. Xow and then men, like 
Gough, are found who break away from early-formed 
habits, but these are the exception and not the rule. 

]Manv good and great men have in later years been 
overcome by habits formed in early life. General Grant 
and Phillips Brooks were men universally honored and 
esteemed, but their lives were shortened by their habit 
of smoking. 

The young man who permits an evil hal^it or a 
secret vice to fasten itself upon him may not under- 
stand how his efforts to be free in later years are to be 
defied. Let him take warning from Gough, who says, "I 
would give this right hand to redeem those terrible seven 
A ears of dissipation and death." The indolent cannot by 
a wish become industrious, nor the spendthrift frugal, 
nor the libertine virtuous. The habit of controlling our 
thoughts in lines of truth, virtue and cheerfulness will 
insure beauty and harmony in character. The will is 
the monarch on the throne. Let it assume its right. 
Now is the time. Regret will not change your course. 

If you are unfortunate enough to haA'e acquired bad 
habits, break them at once before they gain a greater 
hold on you. You may think them absolutely under 
your control, but thousands have made the same assump- 
tion and have found themselves woefully mistaken. You 
may not be able to overcome and subdue these habits in 
your own strength, but there is a power stronger than 
any earthly power that can help you to conquer. God's 
almightiness has in many cases broken these. Cast your- 
self upon Him. Trust Him to break these bonds and He 
will do it, 



110 



TPiAITS OF CHARACTEK. 




Honor the Lord with thy substance.— Solomon. 
THE LAST WILL. 

It is the custom now of men of wealth, in their last 
wills, to make large bequests to various charitable, edu- 
cational and religious institutions. Professor Swing says, 
"The wills of the rich are often penitential tears falling 
over a misspent life, telling us how wealth should be 
administered when one's cheek is still in bloom and the 
star of the soul shines out in its first magnitude." 

While in many cases these gifts have been a blessing 
to mankind, we still hold that the principle suggested 
by Professor Swing in the above extract is much the 
safer and better one. Who has not heard of the will of 
some wealthy man being broken by a flaw, and the large 
sum set aside to purposes altogether different from that 
intended by the donor. The facility with which a man's 



THE LAST WILL. 



in 



last will and testament can be broken, and the disgusting 
publicity which is given to the sanctities of the domestic 
lite through the rapacity of litigating heirs, should make 
the poor man satisfied to leave only an untarnished name 
to posterity and the rich man anxious to be his own 
executor by disposing of his property while he lives. 

There is another aspect that deserves consideration. 
\\hy should a man who has honestly accumulated wealth 
prefer to have that wealth benefit mankind after he has 
gone? Is there no real pleasure in distributing w^ealth 
while living and thus being a witness to one's own bene- 
factions? Wh?t gain is there in deferring all this until 
you are ready to step into the grave? 

There are thousands in our country who intend to 
1:>less mankind by gifts of benevolence. In the near 
future, when a little more wealth has been acquired, they 
are going to endow colleges and found libraries, mu- 
seums and homes for the friendless. And they are sin- 
cere in these intentions. They fully decide that their 
memories shall be revered for their beneficent gifts. 
The real truth, however, is that, of these thousands of 
promising hearts, very few^ enjoy the golden days wdien 
benevolence is a pleasure to them. In the prime of life, 
when the powers of the mind are in full bloom, when 
eloquence, literature and art present their best produc- 
tions, this is the time for works of benevolence and re- 
ligion. Why leave all this to the w^eakness of old age, 
and probably die without carrying out their intentions? 
Is it not true that old age and a second childhood have 
frequently made an entirely different disposition of w^ealth 
than manhood in its prime would have done? A writer 
says that we pass our life in deliberation, and die in it. 
As far as possible, be your own executor, and the age 
in which you live wdll feel your influence. 



112 



TRAITS OF CHARACTEll 




Your labor is not in vain.— St. Paul. 
IMPATIENT OF RESULTS. 



This little boy is hoeing up seeds that he planted 
yesterday, to- see whether they have sprouted. His father, 
smiling at the innocent amusement of the boy, is looking 
for ripe fruit before the time. Both are making the 
same mistake. 

One of the characteristics of Americans is our im- 
patience of results. We want to see the growing plant 
immediately upon the sowing of the seed; we want to 
reap the harvest with the least possible cultivation of 
the crop. There is no^ doubt that, within certain limits, 
this impatience has its advantages. It makes us alert, 
eager, quick, ready in resources. But it has equally ob- 
vious disadvantages. Its tendency is to be satisfied with 
superficial results. It leads, not infrequently, to harsh 
and unjust judgments of those who are doing work that 



IMPATIENT OF RESULTS. 



113 



in the end will tell but that is not at once crowned with 
a showy success. 

There are many instances where we are impatient 
of the results that attend our labors. We want to gather 
the fruit before it has had time to ripen. Time is usually 
an element in any permanent success. There are those 
who, by a stroke of genius or of fortune, mount at a 
bound the ladder of fame or pecuniary success. It is, how- 
ever, by no means certain that they will stay at their glit- 
tering elevation. Those who do stay are generally those 
who climb step by step. The fact that now and then one 
clears the distance with a leap inclines others to impa- 
tience. Illustrations of these truths are not wanting. We 
are sometimes impatient of slow gains, and many may 
prefer the sudden fortunes of speculation to the slow and 
sure method of small but steady increase, even though 
there is the risk of sudden failure. Many men, lured on 
by the bait of sudden riches, have risked and lost their 
all. It pays in this respect to be patient and not permit 
the desire for immediate results to overcome the better 
judgment of the man of sober moments. 

The young must especially learn this lesson. How 
many have made a failure of life because they were 
not willing to toil on slowly but surely, awaiting in due 
time the desired results. It is right for us to desire 
results. We must do so if we would succeed, but we 
can desire speedy results without becoming impatient. 

In all moral, reform and religious work the same 
principle holds. Patient, earnest, steady toil wins in the 
end. Apparent results may be slow in becoming visible. 
The parent in training the child, the Sabbath-school 
teacher in sowing the seed, the pastor in earnest labor, 
the reform worker in his self-denying labors; all these 
may labor without seeing results. But this labor is not 
lost. It is sure to bring results. 

8 



114 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Theudas boasting himself to be somebody.— Acts. 

BOASTING. 

We rise in glory, as we sink in pride; 
Where boasting ends, there dignity begins. 

—Young. 

The MongO'ls illustrate boasting by the following 
s-tory : 

Two geese, when about to start southward on their 
autumn migration, were entreated by a frog to take him 
with them. On the geese expressing their willingness 
to do so, if a means of conveyance could be devised, the 
frog prqduced a stock of strong grass, got the two geese 
to take it, one by each end, while he clung to it by his 
moiuth in the middle. 

In this manner the three were making the journey 
successfully, when they were noticed from below by a 



BOASTING. 



115 



boy, who loudly expressed his admiration of the device, 
and wondered who had been clever enough to invent 
that method of locomotion. The frog opened his mouth 
to say, "It was I," lost his hold, fell to the earth and 
was dashed to pieces. 

The boasting man generally lives for himself and 
in himself. He is ever ready to tell of his great deeds, 
and the hero of all his stories is the one who tells them. 
The great difficulty with the boaster is that he over- 
estimates his strength. He must first of all learn that 
God did not make him to be a great man; while his tales 
may at first be pleasing, they soon become stale and he 
becomes a bore upon society. 

Be careful that you do not commend yourself. It 
is a sign that your reputation is small and sinking if your 
own tongue must praise you. Let your words be few, 
especially when your superiors or strangers are present, 
lest you betray your own weakness and rob yourself of 
the opportunity which you might otherwise have had 
to gain knowledge, w^isdom and experience by hearing 
those whom you silenced by your impertinent talking. — 
Sir Matthew Hale. 

Sir Thomas Overbury says that the man that has 
nothing of which to boast except his illustrious ancestors 
is like a potato — the only good belonging to him is under 
the ground. 

With what happy feelings does a candid mind turn 
away from the boaster to the individual controlled by 
the opposite spirit. Self and self-interests are lost sight 
of in the determined effort to give due credit to others, 
to recognize the good qualities of others and to commend 
them on all proper occasions. 

Humility is the base of every virtue, 

And tliey who dig the deepest build the safest. 

God keeps all hi.s pity for the proud. 

— Bailey. 



116 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




I arise . . . and lie arose.— St. Luke. 



GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 

"I will arise and go to my father." said the prodigal, 
in the "far country." The resolution was a good one 
and proper to be made, but by itself alone it left the 
needy young man to fill himself with husks among the 
swine. 

"And he arose," was his deliverance, for it w^as ptit- 
ting the resolution into practice. 

Resolutions are worthless without a corresponding 
action. Better not form resolutions than not carry them 
out when they are formed. 'T will arise," must be fol- 
lowed by "and he arose," or the Father's house is not 
regained. 

It is in execution that we are all most likely to come 
short. For the prodigal son to resolve that he would 
arise and go to his father was a comparatively easy mat- 
ter; the real pinch of difficulty began to be felt when he 
commenced to carry out his resolution and started upon 



GOOD RESOLUTIONS. 



117 



his journey toward the old parental homestead. So 
with everyone, the real pinch of difficulty comes, not in 
forming good resolutions, but in performing them. 

Many men permit their lives to slip away with their 
large purposes unaccomplished and their smaller inten- 
tions unrealized, simph^ because they never transform 
the ''about to be*' into the ''shall be.*' There are many 
striking examples of failure through lack of immediate 
and present effort. "Unwise delay" has killed many a 
well-designed project. Vague planning is worthless 
without the transforming of the plan into downright 
accomplishment of some sort. Maxims are good only 
when they are crystallized into actions. The plan you 
have in mind, what can you nozv do toward its fulfillment? 

"We aim to make this publication the best family 
sheet in the country," wrote an editor of a newspaper. 
To which the editor of a rival sheet made reply: "Neigh- 
bor, why do you always keep aiming? Why don't you 
shoot sometimes?" It is the shooting that brings down 
the bird. 

To nourish in the heart noble aims and purposes 
is not in itself sufficient for the attainment of life's true 
end. The noblest aims have been known to evaporate; 
the noblest resolutions have been known to melt away 
into thin air. Conviction of duty, right desire, and good 
resolve are all needed; but they are not enough. Con- 
viction must be carried out; desire must be transformed 
into deed; resolve must crystallize into solid fact. 

Day-dreaming is an unprofitable business. "Wish- 
ing, of all employments, is the worst." 

To fulfill our mission we must "do noble things, not 
dream them all day long." Gathering up our strength, 
pulling ourselves together, as we sometimes say, we must 
concentrate all our energy upon some definite thing, ex- 
claiming with the apostle, "This one thing I do." 



118 



TEAITS OF CHARACTER. 




The good that I •vrould do.— Eomans. 
GOOD IXTEXT10X5. 

The world is full of people of good intentions. Like 
in the above scene, many a rich man is seated in his 
comfortable home, indulging in good reflections, in pro- 
jecting plans for doing good on a large scale, in bringing 
abundant relief to the poor. In imagination he has made 
a great many people happy. But he is so engrossed m 
his good intentions that he never gets ready and never 
has the time to carry out any of his charitable plans. 
Although he is surrounded with everything necessar}^ 
to be comfortable, he often sighs when he sees the suf- 
ferings and hardships that poverty brings, and indulges 
in the wish that he might be able to relieve them. He 
keenly realizes that he must provide for his oi^ii wants 



GOOD INTENTIONS. 



119 



first. How willingly he would gra-tify his benevolent 
wishes if he only could. 

He rides in the street car, but he is tired, and his 
earnest reflections upon how he may be the founder of 
some noble institution that will bless mankind prevent 
him from observing that in the same car in which he has 
a comfortable seat there are several hard-working women 
compelled to stand while men of means Qccupy the seats. 

This class of men, and women, too, is far too numer- 
ous — men who form excellent plans and projects for 
doing great things, and who are always thinking about 
what they could do and would do, if they had the means, 
while they utterly neglect to do any of the thousand little 
useful things which are within the power of everyone. 

An explosion occurred in a mine in England. Many 
came and worked with a will. The crowd of bystanders 
expressed sincere sympathy with the ill-fated miners. 
Among them was a young man who seemed to be very 
sincere and very free in his expressions of sympathy, but 
who had not offered to "lend a hand" to remove the 
earth. "Young man, your brother is down there," cried 
a bystander. This suddenly changed the attitude of the 
young man. Pulling off his coat, he grasped a shovel 
and went to work with a will. 

If only all these people of good dispositions and 
intentions could recognize a hrother or a sister in the 
thousands everywhere who need help daily, what a 
change would be wrought. How intentions would fly 
into activities! How self and self-interests would be 
forgotten in the effort to do good to others, in the effort 
to alleviate the pains and sufferings of humanity. Not 
only great deeds, but little acts and words of kindness, 
scatter gloom and give sunshine where it is most needed. 

On a tombstone was found this inscription. "Here 
Hes a man of the best intentions." 



120 



TRAITS OF CHxlRACTEH. 




Turn us, O God, and cause thy face to shine.— Psalmist. 
TURNING WINTER INTO SPRING. 

In the midwinter season many people fall, naturally, 
into the error that the sun emits less heat than during: 
the midsummer. But while we are shivering with the 
cold, the fact is that the mighty furnace of the sun is 
glowing with the same heat as in July — a heat so intense 
that every square foot of its vast surface gives off enough 
energy to drive the colossal engine of the Centennial 
Exhibition — a heat that would melt a column of ice fifty 
miles in diameter as fast as it shot toward the sun/ even 
though it flew with the speed of light! The simple reason 
why we all shiver in February is that our globe lies at 
another angle toward the solar furnace and receives only 
its indirect radiations. The change is in our position. 
There is only one way by which nature turns winter 



TURNING WINTER INTO SPRING. 



121 



into spring; it is by bringing the face of the earth into 
a new position toward the sun rays. Then the snow- 
banks vanish, the seeds sprout, the grass peeps out, the 
buds open, and the sun reneweth the face of the year.— 
Theodore L. Cuyler. 

This astronomic fact teaches us many important and 
practical lessons. Much of the unhappiness and the dis- 
agreeable in life can be accounted for if we look within 
ourselves. We often attempt to make a scapegoat of 
''unfavorable circumstances" and of our "hard lot," while 
all the time the change so much desired could easily 
be brought about if we were to place ourselves at another 
angle to our surroundings. Too often we place ourselves 
at the point of view that the Quaker had when he said, 
"All the world is cjueer, except thcc and nic, and tJiee 
isf-a little queer." 

That former friend, who has become estranged, as 
you think, by no fault of yours, may possibly be won 
again, if you were only to change your attitude toward 
him. He may think as you do, and a slight misunder- 
standing may lose you a friend. Suppose you take the 
initiative and show that as far as lies in your power you 
propose to break down all barriers of hard feelings. This 
frigidity of winter can in many cases be turned into the 
glow of spring by a kind, encouraging or appreciative 
word. Or do you know the worth of a smile? The 
gloom of winter can all be driven away by the smile of 
approbation. You desire to turn winter into spring, my 
friend? Then do not so much try to change circum- 
stances as to change your angle of vision. 

As the earth teems with new life when brought into 
a different position with respect to the sun, so the soul 
that seeks God's face, God's favor, will find that the 
winter will be past and gone and the time of the singing 
of souls will come again. 



122 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Remove thy foot from evil.— Solomon. 

THE SAFEST METHOD. 

The man vrho tries how near to the buzz-saw of temptation he can 
put his hand will never be able to point out to others the folly of 
his course.— Ram's Horn. 

An Irish nobleman was in search of a coachman, 
and, as the situation was a desirable one, there were 
many candidates for it. Calling them together, his 
lordship asked the first: 

"Now, how near the edge of a precipice can you 
drive me in safety?" 

"Oh," answered Pat, "at four feet off I'd under- 
take to go along aisy with fresh horses, and never a taste 
of an accident should your lordship have." 

"You must drive well," said the nobleman. And 
then he put the same question to the next applicant, who 
promised to go with equal safety to closer quarters. 



THE SAFEST METHOD. 



123 



A third was sure he could drive within a foot, and then 
the competition became so eager, his lordship had offers 
of being driven within a few inches of the edge. 

"And how near would you go?" asked his lordship 
of a quiet man, who had remained silent. 

''Sure, I'd kape myself and your lordship as far 
away as I could," was the reply. 

"Then you're the man for me," cried the noble- 
man, and engaged the sensible driver on the spot. 

"I can drink or leave it alone." 

So has said every man who has died a drunkard 

This is the confident statement of every moderate 
drinker. 

But down they go, 60,000 to 80,000 every year. 

We see the bloated, miserable God-forsaken 
wrecks all about us every day, and yet that smile of 
assurance in your own will power comes up again and 
you say, "They have gone down, but I — never." 

A young man stood at the bar of a court with a 
verdict of guilty against him for some crime. Before 
he was sentenced he addressed the court and said: "My 
downward course began in disobedience to my parents. 
My father plead with me to forsake bad company, but I 
thought I knew as much of the world as my father did. 
I spurned his advice. I thought I knew when to stop; 
but when I turned my back upon my home temptation 
came upon me like a drove of hyenas, and hurried me to 
my ruin." Mark that confession, young men, who are 
beginning to be wiser than your parents, and take the 
safest method. 

The only safe method to deal with evil is to keep 
as far removed from it as possible. The happy time 
coming will not be realized in any other way. Why not 
make that time to-day by choosing God and the right. 



124 




It is a little one.— Lot. 

LITTLE THINGS. 

Little self-denials, littJe honesties, little passing words of sym- 
pathy, little nameless acts of kindness, little silent victories over 
favorite temptations-these are the silent threads of gold which, when 
woven together, gleam out so brightly in the pattern of life that 
God approves.— Frederic W. Farrar. 

A picture in a public gallery in London gives a 
scene in the Higher Alps. A noble eagle in flight is 
pursued by scores of birds. The hawk and other 
large birds he can keep at a distance. Whenever they 
come too near he tears them with his claws or strikes 
them with his beak. The humming-bird, a tiny thing 
compared with the eagle, has joined the other birds m 
their attack upon the eagle. He can do more injury 
than all the others. He sits on the head of the king of 
birds, pecking away and scattering the feathers as the 
eagle soars higher. The humming-bird is small and has 
a small beak and little strength, but sitting on the vital 



LITTLE THINGS. 



125 



part, and constantly teasing, he frequently injures the 
brain of the eagle and causes his death. 

How often is it the case that we allow little things 
to annoy us, to destroy our peace, our happiness, our 
health. Great troubles we manfully meet and conquer, 
but little things, little humming-bird troubles, get near 
our hearts, and we fail to comprehend that only God's 
infinite grace can help us overcome. 

A little boy who held a sixpence near his eye said, 
"Oh, Mother, it is bigger than the room," and when he 
drew it nearer still he exclaimed, "Oh, Mother, it is big- 
ger than all outdoors." A silk fiber stretched across the 
glass of a telescope may hide a star. A hair may strangle 
a giant. A pebble dropped into the ocean from an in- 
fant's hand will stir the waters to their great depths and 
their widest bounds. Little things have turned the tide 
of a great battle, crushed a dynasty, obliterated an em- 
pire and changed the map of a continent. Little things 
frequently shape the policies of governments and make 
and unmake public men. Little things raise men from 
poverty to wealth and destroy the accumulations of years 
of hard and honest labor. In earlier years we may 
have planned wisely and cautiously, but some little thing 
— some concealed switch — may have turned us from our 
course entirely. A very small self-gratification, a very 
little love of pleasure, a very small thread, may hide the 
light from view and turn us on the wrong course. 

There can be no little transgression of God's infinite 
holy law. There can be no little sins. Little ''short- 
comings," little "indiscretions," are not found in God's 
vocabulary. Nothing is little in the eye of God. Noth- 
ing is too little for the pen of the recording angel. 

It is the little rift within the lute 

That, by and by, will make the music mute.— Tennyson, 



126 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Train up a child in the way he should go.— Solomon. 
DECEIVING CHILDREN. 

Oh, what a tangled web we weave. 
When first we practice to deceive. 

—Scott. 

A short time ago a gentleman took his Httle son on 
a raihvay excursion. The Httle fellow was looking out 
of the window, when the father slipped the hat off the 
boy's head. The latter was much grieved at his sup- 
posed loss, when papa consoled him by saying he would 
"whistle it back." A little later he whistled and the hat 
reappeared. Not long after the little lad flung the hat 
out of the window, shouting: "Now, Papa, whistle it 
back again!" A roar of laughter in the carriage served 
to enhance the confusion of perplexed papa. 

Children soon learn to know whether the parents' 
word is to be relied on or not. A child about five years 



DECEIVING CHILDREN. 



127 



old was rude and noisy. The mother kindly reproved 
her, saying: ''Sarah, you must not do so." The child 
soon forgot the reproof and became as noisy as ever. 
The mother firmly said: "Sarah, if you do so again I 
will punish you." But not long afterward Sarah ''did 
so again." A young lady present said, "Never mind, I 
will ask your mother not to punish you." "Oh," said 
Sarah, "that will do no good. My mother never tells 
lies." 

Robert Hall once said to a mother: "If you do not 
wish your child to grow up a liar, never act a lie before 
her. Children are very quick observers, and soon learn 
that that -which assumes to be what it is not is a lie, 
whether acted or spoken." 

This deception on the part of parents, if followed 
up closely, exists to an alarming extent. Parents who 
would not for a moment think of uttering a falsehood 
yet act in such a manner or present matters in such a 
light to the child that there exists a doubt in the child's 
mind as to the integrity of the parent. 

This deception is sometimes carried into our re- 
ligious life and festivities. Who doubts the logic of the 
little child's question after a Christmas festival when 
being told that there was no Santa Claus, innocently 
asked, "Well, is there a real Christ?" 

Dr. Leonard Bacon once preached a sermon on what 
he called the obverse side of the Fifth Commandment — 
the duty of parents to be zvorthy of honor. The child is 
born into the world with this right. His pure eyes look 
to his elders for example. His soul waits for impulse and 
inspiration from them. Woe unto that parent who, by 
unworthy character or by neglect or by deception, causes 
one of these little ones to stumble; it were better that a 
millstone were hanged about his neck and that he were 
drowned in the depths of the sea. 



128 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil.— Isaiah. 
CHANGINCr GUIDEBOARDS. 

A number of boys, wishing to have some fun, 
changed the guideboard at the crossing of two roads. 
The result was that a ph3'sician, who had been called 
in haste to attend a case of accidental poisoning, followed 
the guideboard and took the wrong road and arrived 
when the patient was beyond recovery The physician, 
unacquainted with the roads was not to blame for the 
mistake, and the boys meant no harm. But the result! 

Innocent jokes! How often they haye resulted in 
permanent injury or in loss of life. Not infrequently 
has the victim of the joke been a member of the same 
famil}'. A young girl was very much afraid of fire- 
crackers. Tier brothers, knowing her dread, determined 
to have a little innocent fun, and lighted a number, and, 
unnoticed, placed them under a seat in the yard which 
she was occupying. The result was that she was thrown 
into spasms, and became a helpless, hopeless invahd. 



CHANGING GUIDEBOARDS. 



129 



^lany persons have paid a very high price for what 
thev supposed would be only a little innocent fun. 

Do vou remember that poem of Southey's about Sir 
Ralph the Rover? On the east coast of Scotland, near 
Arbroath, a good man had placed a tioat with a bell 
attached on the dangerous Inchcape Rock, so that m- 
coming ships, unwarned in the darkness and storm, 
might be warned and keep away. In a moment of devil- 
trv Sir Ralph the Rover cut away both bell and float. 
This was a cruel thing to do. Years passed by. Sir 
Ralph roamed over many parts of the world and at last 
returned to Scotland. As he neared the coast a storm 
was raging. AMiere was he? AMiere was the ship drift- 
ing? Oh. that he knew where he wasi Oh. that he could 
hear the bell on Inchcape Rock! But years ago, in his 
thoughtlessness and sinful folly, he had cut it away with 
his own hands. Listen to the grating sounds heard amid 
the storm! In the grasp of the breakers the ship is 
hopelessly tossed about, and at last strikes that very 
rock. Amid curses of rage and despair the ship goes 
down, bearing Avith it him whose sin has foimd him out. 
He sinks to rise no more until the great day of judgment. 

Another aspect of this subject. In a higher and 
more important sense there are those that change guide- 
boards. The young man who follows the advice of asso- 
ciates should be sure that the guideboard has not been 
changed. 

]^Iany young men have been led to give up the 
simple faith of childhood and pious parents when in our 
higher institutions of learning. Philosophy and the so- 
called power of independent thought are substituted for 
a consecrated, holy life. It is dreadful to change a guide- 
board that physical death ensues: it is much more so 
when the issues involve eternal life and eternal death. 

9 



130 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Work out your own salvation.— St. Paul. 

PARASITES. 
An idle life is death anticipated.— Goethe. 



Better far be burned at the stake of public opinion than die the living 
death of parasitism.— Drummond, 

Prof. Henry Drummond says that parasites are 
paupers of Nature. They are forms of Hfe that will not 
take the trouble to find their own food, but borrow or 
steal it. The parasite has no thought for its race or for 
perfection in any shape or form. It wants two things — 
food and shelter. In the picture above we give three 
forms of the parasite. 

The Dodder is a plant, a vine that fixes itself to some 
other plant, as to hops, flax, the nettle, etc., and, decay- 
ing at the root, is nourished by the plant that supports 
it. The Hermit Crab takes up its abode in the cast- 
off shell of some other animal and, like Diogenes in his 
tub, lives a very lonely but a very active life. 

The Hermit Crab is not altogether a parasite, but 
within its body is frequently found a bunch of rootlike 
processes, called Saccuhna. This organism has neither 
legs nor eyes, nor throat, nor stomach, nor any other- 
organs, and is a typical parasite. 

Parasitism is always accompanied by degeneration, 



PARASITES. 



131 



and scientists tell us that this is true of the Sacculina, 
which might have been a crustacean. Let the parasitic 
life begin, and away go legs, jaws, eyes and ears, the 
organism becoming a mere sac, absorbing nourishment. 
There are many other parasites found in the higher 
forms of life which we cannot name here. 

The third parasite in the picture belongs to the 
genus Homo. Have you ever seen this specimen? 
Here again this parasite expects to find food and shelter 
without earning them. It is impossible to name the dif- 
ferent varieties. They are found in the physical, 
mental, moral, and spiritual world. The general law 
of parasites, as stated by Drummond. is that anything 
which secures food to the individual without the ex- 
penditure of work is injurious and accompanied by de- 
generation. 

Ail that can be said of idleness generally might be 
fitly urged in support of this great practical truth. All 
nations that have prematurely passed away, buried in 
graves dug by their own effeminacy ; all those individuals 
who have secured a hasty wealth by the chances of specu- 
lation: all children of fortune; all victims of inheritance; 
all social sponges; all satellites of the court; all beggars 
of the marketplace — all these are living and unlying 
witness to the unalterable retributions to the law of par- 
asitism. — Drummond. 

In the religious sphere the parasitic habit makes 
awful ravages on the souls of men. While truth and 
knowledge seem to increase, life and character are de- 
grading. A mere adherent of the church presents to 
the world a false conception of the religion of Christ. 
A ital Christianity in the home will in most cases prevent 
parasitic children. 



132 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




He did it with all his heart and prospered.— 2 Chronicles. 

CONCENTRATION. 
Be a whole man at everything.— Gurney. 

Archimedes one day drew a mathematical figure 
in the sand, and was so intent upon the solution of his 
problem that he had but one request to make of the 
Roman soldiers who had been sent to kill himi. His 
request was that his life might be spared long enough for 
him to finish the solution of his problem, but even this 
was ruthlessly denied him. 

In order to succeed in life it is necessary to have a 
certain amount of concentration. Duties may be varied, 
but the duty of the moment demands the whole strength 
of man. Many men are laboring hard, but not having 
the faculty of concentrating their powers upon a single 
subject at hand, their arduous toil often means nothing 



CONCEXTRATIOX. 



133 



but defeat, while others, who concentrate their forces and 
dispel worry from the mind, with much less labor turn 
defeats into telling victories. 

How often the school boy hnds it a difficult task 
to give his whole attention to the lesson at hand. It 
requires not a little effort on his part to become the 
diligent student who knows what application is. In every 
great success the power of concentration is clearly seen, 
overcoming cUf^iculties. driving away discouragements. 

Dividing the energies and powers of a man is the 
curse of many a business life, and frequently hinders 
progress in other fields. Coleridge is said to have left be- 
hind him about forty thousand treatises on metaphysics 
and divinity — not one of them complete. How much 
greater blessing men might be to the world if there were 
not this scattering of energies. 

Gladstone is a remarkable example of the power of 
concentration. AMiatever the work he had in hand, in 
his long and eventful life, took hold of him so entirely 
that he had to be roused from it as most are roused from 
sleep. The rare power of being totally indifTerent to his 
surroundings was invaluable to him as leader of the 
House of Commons. 

\Miliam Pitt, although in some respects not a worthy 
example for }-oung men, teaches an important lesson on 
what fixedness of purpose will do. Neglecting every- 
thing else, he bent all his energies in acquiring political 
supremacy, and for a quarter of a century stood at the 
head of one of the most powerful nations of the world. 

Concentration that wins is shown by Sidney Smith' 
when he suggests that we read so heartily that dinner- 
times com.es two hours before you expect it. Charles 
Kingsley says: "'I go at what I am about as if there was 
nothing else in the world for the time being. That's the 
secret of all hard-working men, but most of them can't 
carry it into their amusements." 



134 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Fearing lest they should have fallen upon rocks.— St. Paul. 
DANGER NEAR THE COAST. 
A'essels are not often wrecked in mid-ocean. It is 
only when the coast is neared that danger is imminent. 
The same truth holds in the moral world. The life that is 
headed toward the deep seas of purity, honesty and noble 
manhood is not in danger, as is the life that has cut away 
from the "old life," but is still moving in the shallow 
waters nearthe shore. Hezekiah Butterworth beautifully 
illustrates this truth in the following lines: 

When life was young ni}' white sail hung 

O'er ocean's crystal floor: 
In the capes alee was the dreaming sea. 

And the deep sea waves before. 



DANGER NEAR THE COAST. 135 

And a Glo'ster fisherman called to me 

From the pier's extremest post: 
"Strike out, my boy, for the open sea, 

There's danger near the coast!" 

From the seaport town I went away, 

And a Christian man returned. 
And I told in the old home church one day 

The truths my heart had learned 
When the grizzly fisherman said to me : 

"Of strength we may not boast; 
Strike out, my boy, for the open sea; 

There's danger near the coast." 

"False lights, false rocks, are near the land, ■ 

The reef the land-wave hides. 
And the ship goes down in sight of the town, 

That safe the deep sea rides. 
'Tis those that steer the old life near 

Temptation suffer most; 
Strike out again for the open main; 

"There's danger near the coast"' 

And so on life's bay I sail awa}^ 

Where free the sea winds blow, 
. As I sailed from the old home port that day. 

And the rocks of the Norman's Woe. 
And when I steer the old life near. 

The fisherman, like a ghost. 
On the wave-rocked pier I seem to hear — 

"There's danger near the coast!" 

This truth finds application in religious circles. The 
individual or the community that is not ready to swing 
out away from evil, but delights to linger near its shore, 
will never be bold and aggressive in defending the right, 
will never be strong in any sense. 

What community does not know of men who were 
rescued from the "old life" and for a time were ex- 
amples of promising manhood, but, believing them- 
selves strong, they ventured "near the coast" and were 
overtaken. This is true not only in the grosser vices 
of intemperance and lust, but also in the "little" things 
that lead to indifference and apathy in the "new life." 
If Christians were generally to heed the warning, 
"There's danger near die coast," the Church would be 
revolutionized in a day. 



136 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Redeeming the time.— St. Paul. 

PROMPTNESS. 

General Washington's private secretary once apolo- 
gized for his delays by saying, "My watch is out of order." 
'"Then," replied Washington, "you must get a new watch 
or I must get a new secretary." Pompey once said, "It 
is not necessary for me to live, but it is necessary that I 
be at a certain point at a certain hour. 

Franklin said to a servant that was frequently late 
and was always ready with an excuse, "I have generally 
found that the man that is good at an excuse is good for 
nothing else." 

Some persons have the habit of being behind time. 
They arrive at the breakfast table a little late. Their 
letters are mailed just after the time of closing the mails. 
The train has just left as they appear on the scene. They 
are not apt to break engagements, only that they always 
come a little after the time. 

Grouchy, Napoleon's marshal at Waterloo, was only 
a few minutes late, The few minutes were improved by 



PROMPTNESS. 



137 



Blucher, the general on Wellington's side, and decided 
the victory of the day and sent Napoleon to St. Helena. 

Persons who are not prompt in all their doings 
sometimes think that they themselves only are injured 
by their neglect, while in fact lack of being prompt and 
punctual is a marked inconvenience, discourtesy, and 
often a positive loss to someone else. Delay on your part 
often means stealing time that belongs to others. Delay 
in answering a letter, in speaking a word, in prof¥ering a 
helping hand, in performing a piece of work, may not only 
result in no good, but in positive evil. 

Promptness is a characteristic of truly great men. 
As a rule, the most truly successful and competent men 
of the community are always prompt. "I have no time," 
or, "I will go a little after time so as not to lose time," 
are the men who are always hustling and never accom- 
plish anything. 

Dr. Fitch says: ''I give it as my deliberate and sol- 
emn conviction that the individual that is tardy in meet- 
ing an appointment will never be respected or successful 
in Hfe." 

Five minutes late! Who can estimate the result? 
A conductor's watch is behind time — a frightful collision 
occurs; a leading firm needs funds that are available to 
its agent, the agent is tardy in transmitting — the firm 
becomes bankrupt. 

Victory or defeat, success or failure, a useful life or a 
wasted life, princely manhood or a shattered humanity — 
all these may hinge upon an important five minutes. 

"Too late" may be written on the tombstone of 
many a wasted life — too late in rising, too late in busi- 
ness, too late in meeting engagements, too late in efforts 
to benefit mankind, too late in religious duties and at 
last, 

"Too late: too late: will be the cry, 
Jesus of Js'azareth has passed by . " 



138 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Why talkest thou with her?— St. John. 



PURITY. 

A woman paused where a chandelier 
Threw in the darkness its poisoned spear; 
Weary and footsore from journeying long, 
She had strayed unawares from the right 
to the wrong; 

Angels were beck'ning her back from the den, 
Hell and its demons were beck'ning her in; 
The word of a sister, like one who forgives, 
Drew her back, and in heaven that sweet 
word lives.— Anon. 

At the Columbian Exposition, in one Oif the corri- 
dors of the Art Building, stood a marble group, repre- 
senting an outcast wofman, who, trembling with fear and 
cowering with shame, seeks protection from one whom 
she instinctively recognizes as a new found friend. Her 
timid, upward glance reveals a soul in which the shades 
of the guilty past are contending in mortal combat with 
the newly awakened aspiration and hope for a better life. 
Bending over, as if to shield her by his mantle from 



PURITY. 



139 



those who drew back their garment's hem, for fear of 
defilement, and looking down into h'er very soul with an 
expression of infinite sorrow, compassion and pardon, is 
the Christ of Galilee, the frtend of sinners. No Christian 
could catch the Master's thought, thus vividly embodied 
by the sculptor, without feeling a measure of his 
"passionate passion for souls," ''that pours itself out for 
the lost." — Mrs. Rev. L. Grosenbaugh. 

No line of Christian work shows more clearly the 
imprint of divinity than this oneness with God in helping 
to take away the sin of the world by uplifting fallen 
womanhood. Yet those engaging in rescue work soon 
find that an almost impassable gulf separates these vic- 
tims from the possibility of returning to a pure life, the 
double standard of morals upheld by society for the sexes 
probably forming the greater part of the chasm. 

So long as girls must work for a mere pittance that 
will not provide for the actual necessities of life, and are 
told, when complaint is made, that they are expected to 
resort to other resources, we can but expect young 
women to accept friendships which prove destructive to 
virtue and from whose power they are unable to escape. 

A mother's influence can go far to prevent the im- 
partation of false views of life by the current and modern 
novel, and to open the eyes oi her daughters to the grand 
possibilities and golden realities of pure, untarnished 
womanhood. Mothers should also endeavor to remove 
temptation from unwary feet by the training in purity, 
courage and chivalry of their sons, as well as their 
daughters. 

That Christian sympathy and helpfulness are awak- 
ening on this question is seen in the establishing of the 
many rescue homes in our large cities, notably the Flor- 
ence Crittenton Homes, found in nearly every large city 
of the United States. 



140 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Keepthyself pure.— St. Paul. 

THE TRIUMPHS OF MANHOOD. 

There is nothing that man may justly pride himself 
in more than in a clean, pure life. There is nothing that 
degrades a man and brings shame and reproach upon him 
as when he turns aside and mars and blots his record of 
virtuous conduct. It is only while the crown of purity is 
on his brow that man can pride himself in exalted, noble 
manhood. Fortune and wealth may not have favored 
him, he may be little and unknown in man's sight, but 
with a clean record, a beautiful character, he is one of 
God's noblemen. 

''First pure," says the inspired Word, and then 
records the triumphs of a Joseph who overcame a subtle 
temptation. 

"First pure," says God's Word, and then records 
as a warning to all future generations the sad ef¥ects 
of uncleanness and licentiousness. What name brings a 
dreadful blot upon the otherwise clean and virtuous 
record of a David? Bathsheba. What rent in twain 



THE TRIUMPHS OF MANHOOD. 



141 



Solomon's magnificent kingdom? Polygamy. What 
destroyed the nations of antiquity? Their secret vices. 

Of John Milton it is said that when he was a mem- 
ber of the English legation to Italy, allurements and 
temptations were thrown in his way, and although no 
man saw him, yet he calls God to witness that he kept 
himself pure. Daniel Webster never allowed anything 
indelicate or profane in the stories to which he listened, 
and under no circumstance was he known to utter any 
language which might not be repeated in a lady's draw- 
ing-room. Charles Sumner, a man of great personal 
charm, a favorite guest in the most brilliant circles of 
society, never deviated from the path of Spartan recti- 
tude and virgin beauty. To these might be added a 
brilliant galaxy of true-hearted, illustrious, names. 

Let no one who prizes virtuous manhood think that 
he ought to explore the way that leads to death. It is 
a dangerous experiment to enter heaven by the way of 
hell. Let the dearly bought experiences of others sug- 
gest the proper course. 

The idea of a double standard of morals, allowing 
men freedom to indulge themselves, while expecting a 
white and stainless life from their sisters, is delusive and 
full of mischief. All honor to the noble women whO' are 
pressing home the truth, "If chastity is a law for woman, 
it must be sO' for every woman without exception; and 
if it is a law for every woman, it follows necessarily that 
it must be equally so for every man." 

Notice the striking contrast between the serene and 
peaceful ending of a virtuous life of more than three-score 
years and that of the profligate Byron, who at thirty-six 
wrote : 

"My days are in the yellow leaf, 
The flowers and fruits of love are gone; 
The worm, the canker and the grief. 
Are mine alone,"' 



142 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




The rich and poor meet together .—Solomon. 
SIDE BY SIDE. 

In our large cities there is a distance of a hundred miles between the 
fashionable and unfashionable side of a brick wall — Joseph Cook. 

One of the questions agitating the large and con- 
gested centers of our nation to-day. and one that has 
consequently become national in importance, is the grow- 
ing hatred between the poor and the rich. In all ages 
this hatred has existed. Centuries ago Alcibiades ar- 
raved the poor of, Athens against the rich. The result 
was that Athens was devastated, the rich becoming poor 
and the poor becoming deported slaves under the Rom- 
ans. And thus it has ever been. Forced measures have 
ever intensified the feeling and widened the breach be- 
tween classes and clans. The poor resented the contempt 
of the rich and the rich oppressed the poor the more. 
Class hatred may apparently have cause for existence 
in those countries where hereditary classes hold sway, 
but in our country, where there is no artificial aristocracy, 
where there is no impassable gulf between the classes, but 



SIDE BY SIDE. 



143 



where the boy born in the hut or log cabin has the privi- 
lege to aspire to the highest position, here, there is no 
excuse for class hatred. Wherever this spirit is nour- 
ished and fostered, there is the probability of retarding 
the solution of the problem. Society is alike indebted 
to the poor and the rich. There is a constant shuffling 
of the scenes. The poor of to-day become the great in- 
dustrial leaders of to-morrow, while the children of the 
rich are frequently found among the sons of toil of the 
next generation. The obscure become renowned and 
the renowned pass into obscurity. In this constant 
change neither can say, 'T do not need thee," to the other 
class. 

A more genial and helpful spirit would soon exist 
were each class to consider how helpless it would be 
without the other. Capital is utterly helpless without 
labor, and labor equally so without capital. Rather than 
to increase the spirit of class hatred, let each man see 
that ability is sure to receive recognition and bend his 
energies in making the most of himself. In our public 
schools, so beautifully and well equipped, the poor man's 
son is on a level with the rich man's son. To each is 
given the same instruction, and frequently it is the poor 
boy that is brought into prominence and usefulness. It 
would almost seem that the adversity that the poor boy 
must* encounter makes him all the more hardy to endure 
the storms and to stand above the common level, while 
the case of the child of wealth makes him el¥eminate 
and helpless. Our public schools are a great Jactor in 
solving the class question. We plead for a more toler- 
ant and sympathetic spirit on each side. This will, more 
than any agitation, place all on a common level. 



144 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Weep Tvith them that weep— St. Paul. 
SYMPATHY. 

We often do more by our sympathy than by our labors.— Canon Farrar. 
••Like moonlight on a troubled sea. 
Brightening the storm it cannot cairn." 
so sympathy softens a sorrow it has no power to move.— Thwing. 

An eminent clergyman sat in his studv. busilv en- 
gaged in preparing his Sunday sermon, when his Uttle 
boy toddled into the room and. holding up his pinched 
finger, said, with an expression of suffering, "Look, papa, 
how I hurt it!" The father, interrupted in the middle 
of a sentence, glanced hastily at him, and with the slight- 



SYMPATHY. 



145 



est tone of impatience said. "I cannot help it, my boy." 
The httle fellow's eyes grew bigger, and as he turned to 
go out he said, in a low voice, '"Yes. vou could: you might 
have said. 'Oh!' " 

Among the various forms of Christian duty, that 
trait of character called sympathy, that fellow feeling 
that makes our sorrows one. deserves a high place. 
Among the toiling, lowly ones of earth's teeming millions 
there is many a life made bitter, many a hope relinquished, 
many a heart crushed for the lack of human sympathy. 
What heartaches, what woes, what discouragements 
might be dispelled as mists before the rising sun, were 
the sympathetic look, the kindly word, the helping hand 
not so often withheld. Oh. that expression of sympa- 
thy! It costs the giver nothing, but is an anodyne to 
nerves all unstrung by the tension brought on by the 
hardships of life. Then, also, there should be the sym- 
pathetic ear to hear the story of grief and sorrow and 
for lack of which many endure deep suffering and per- 
haps fall into actual sin. Nothing cuts like neglect, and, 
on the other hand, nothing heals wounds, softens trials 
and cheers the soul like sympathy. Xo one is above 
the word of cheer in the hour of adversity. To make a 
m.an who has met with adversity in financial matters 
feel that matters might be worse, and that he still has 
what is of more value, friends and character, is a benefit 
that cannot be estimated in money value. ''AMiat can I 
do to help you?" sends a thrill of hope and courage to 
the despondent heart. For want of just such sympathy 
many a good man and woman has felt the sword of 
cold neglect pierce the very soul. 

Christian sympathy in the hours of bereavement 
lightens the load of grief wonderfully. The visits and 
messages of a Jonathan to a David strengthen the faith 
in an unerring Providence. 

10 



146 



tkaits of character. 




To be seen of men.— Jesus Christ. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR APPLAUSE. 

O Popular Applause! what heart of man. 
Is proof against thy sweet, seducing charms? 
Always be as solicitous to shun applause as assiduous 
to deserve it.— Chesterfield. 

Our artist here represents men struggling- to grasp 
the bubbles of honor, fame, titles and applause. This 
representation is not at all unlike the struggle going on 
all around us. These air-inflated bubbles are carried 
along by the breeze. They fascinate the unwary and 
attract the attention of unthinking youth. 

Oh, this struggle for applause! How many a noble, 
gifted youth has it turned from the path of usefulness 
and virtue and sent him seeking after empty honors. 
Only when much of life is spent in this useless pursuit 
does the victim at times see his error and turn aAvay 
in disgust. It is remarkable what a great price many 
are willing to pay for the fleeting plaudits of mankind. 
True honor, ease, comfort, peace of mind, the happi- 
ness, fortunes and destinies of others are all sacrificed 
for the gratification of a vain desire that never satisfies. 



THE STRUGGLE FOR APPLAUSE. 



147 



The artless youth that threw away his satchel of books 
and, turning away from school, ran after the rainbow is 
to be commended rather than these applause seekers. 

The young man that has turned away from true 
worth of character and has his eye on the applause that 
comes from titles, position and place of honor generally 
overestimates his strength and abilities. It is natural 
for him to do so. Infatuated by the one desire, nothing 
is great that does not have its source in his own be- 
clouded mind. The reputation and character of others 
may be blasted and ruined, if thereby he can climb toward 
his desired object. 

Mr. Hervey was once complimented by a friend on 
account of his writings. "Oh, sir," said he, "you would 
not strike the sparks of applause if you knew how much 
corrupt tinder I have within." 

Suppose the desired goal is reached, what is gained 
thereby? Napoleon had a true estimate of the worth 
of applause when he returned from his successful vv^ars 
in Austria and Italy, amid the huzzas of the people. A 
friend said to him, 'Tt must be delightful to be greeted 
with such demonstrations of enthusiastic admiration." 
"Bah!" said Napoleon, "this same unthinking crowd, 
under a slight change of circumstances, would follow 
me just as eagerly to the scaffold." He well knew the 
fickleness of the multitudes. Honor, titles, fame, are 
fleeting and never satisfy. All these are insignificant 
compared with the "Well done, faithful servant," of the 
Master. Seek God's approval first and life must be a 
grand success. Nothing short of God's abounding 
j^-race can remove from the heart this inordinate desire 
for office and place. Be content to be dead to applause 
that no desire shall arise to be great or good or wise in 
any but His eyes. 



148 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Thou Shalt not covet.— Jehovah. 
COVETOUSXESS. 



An avaricious or covetous man is never content 
with what he has. A circle cannot fill a triangle. Even 
if the whole world could be encircled, the heart of the 
avaricious man could not and would not be satisfied 
or filled with it. The avaricious man is like barren, 
sandy ground of the desert which sucks in all the rain 
and dew with greediness, but yields no fruitful herbs 
or plants for the benefit of others. A covetous rich man 
does no good with his riches while he lives. 

Beware of growing covetousness, for of all sins this 
is one of the most insidious. It is like the silting up 
of a river. As the stream comes down from the land, 
it brings with it sand and earth, and deposits all these 
at its mouth, so that by degrees, unless the conservators 
watch it carefully, it will block itself up and leave no 



COVETOUSNESS. 



149 



channel for ships of great burden. By daily deposit it 
imperceptibl}- creates a bar which is dangerous to navi- 
gation. ]\Iany a man when he begins to accumulate 
wealth commences at the same moment to ruin his 
soul, and the more he acquires, the more closely he blocks 
up his liberality, which is, so to speak, the very mouth 
of spiritual life. Instead of doing more for God, he 
does less; the more he saves, the more he wants, and 
the more he wants of this world, the less he cares for 
the world to come. — Spurgeon. 

Avarice sometimes overreaches itself, as is illus- 
trated in the following: 

x\ very rich merchant who had an only son made 
his will, bv which he gave all his wealth, which amounted 
to three hundred thousand francs, to certain monks, leav- 
ing them to give to his son such sum as they wished. 
The merchant died; the monks took all to themselves 
vrithout wishing to give anything to the heir. The latter 
complained to the viceroy, who, having seen the will, 
asked the monks what they offered to the son. "Ten 
thousand francs," they replied. "You wish, then, to 
have all the rest?'' "Yes, my lord, we demand the exe- 
cution of the will." "That is just," said the viceroy, 
"but you do not understand it properly. It is said that 
the son shall have that which you wish. You grant ten 
to the heir; it is two hundred and ninety thousand francs 
that you want. Ah, well! follo\\ing the clause of the 
will, this sum is set apart for the son. I order you to 
give it to him; the ten thousand francs remaining are 
therefore yours." They were obliged to submit 

The Parthians having conquered the Roman gen- 
eral, Crassus, who invaded their country, the Parthian 
king is said to have poured into his mouth melted gold, 
saying, "Xow be satiated with what thou covetedst 
through life." 



150 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




I know thy works.— Revelations. 

POSTHUMOUS PRAISE. 
Human nature is at its best and highest only when 
there is a sense of appreciation either human or divine. 
We detest flattery, but we plead for a more timely recog- 
nition of benefits received from others, of acts of love 
and kindness, of toiling ones who become wearied with 
burdens along life's stormy way. Many are dying for 
want of a word of encouragement and appreciation, which 
to them is often better than medicine. Criticism, with 
its chilling influence, may be given in unsparing doses, 
while for some reason commendation is so frequently 
withheld until it is of no benefit to anyone. Margaret 
Preston makes emphatic protest against this procedure 
in the following lines: 

"What use for the rope, if it be not flung 
Till the swimmer's grasp to the rock has clung? 
What help in a comrade's bugle-blast 
When the peril of Alpine heights is past? 
What need that the spurring psean roll, 
When the runner is safe beyond the goal? 



POSTHUMOUS PRAISE. 



151 



What worth in eulogy's blandest breath 

When whispered in ears that are hushed in death? 

No! no! if you have but a word of cheer, 

Speak it while I am alive to hear!" 

We pronounce finished and highly figured eulogies 
over the dead and decorate their caskets and graves with 
beautiful and costly flowers, whereas we withheld the 
few words of cheer that might have lengthened their 
lives and increased their usefulness. In the midst of 
this strange neglect it is consoling to know that the great 
Master says to every struggling heart craving sympathy, 
"I know^ thy works." Even a cup of cold water given 
to needy ones does not escape his notice. 

Too often we entertain the best of intentions, but 
put off their fulfillment, until to our profound regret the 
opportunity is forever passed. We conclude that: 

"We'll see that friend, and make him feel 
The weight of friendship true as steel; 
Some flower of sympathy bestow; 
But time sweeps on with steady flow, 
Until, with quick reproachful tear. 
We lay our flowers upon his bier." 

Sing sweetly and strongly of the virtues of the dead, 
but recognize as well the virtues of the living and in- 
spire them to still better things. 

"You have been a good mother to us," said the 
grown children, as they were called to her bedside. "You 
never told me that before," whispered the mother, and 
passed away. 

Strew flowers, if you please, upon my grave. 

And laud, if you wish, after I depart, 

But to benefit me, bouquets now Ud have. 

Of loving sympathy to cheer my heart. 
Speak the word now, while, above the sod, 
It may help a weary one nearer God. 



152 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




A flattering mouth vvorketh ruin.- Solomon. 
FLATTERY. 



Holdl 

No adulation! 'tis the death of virtue! 

Who flatters, is of all mankind the lowest, 

Save him who courts the flattery.— Hannah More. 

'Tis an old maxim in the schools. 

That flattery is the food of fools: 

Yet now and then, your men of wit 

AVill condescend to'take a bit.— Dean Swift. 

The distinction between real praise (that is, hearty, 
genuine commendation of what is worthy in another) 
and flattery is very aptly illustrated in the anecdote of 
the pastor who, having outworn his welcome, was with 
difficulty persuaded to resign his charge. No sooner had 
he done this than he was fairly overwhelmed with ex- 
pressions of regard and esteem. On the Sunday when 
he was to preach his farewell sermon an unusually large 
congregation assembled. Imagine the consternation 
when the pastor announced that, since making known 
his intention to resign, he had received so many proofs 
of his people's devotion to him, that he had decided not 



FLATTERY. 



153 



to leave them, but to continue at his post so long as he 
was spared for service. 

In compliments, two and two do not make four; 
and twenty and twenty fall very short of forty. Deal not, 
then, in that deceitful arithmetic. — Robert Hall. 

No flatterer can be a good friend. A more wily 
and dangerous enchanter does not exist on the face of 
the earth, and yet it is the very life and soul of the fashion- 
able world, for when it is absent the atmosphere is filled 
with vapors and complaints. 

Spiritual flattery has ruined many a promising youth, 
many a talented student, many a gifted minister. There 
is a dangerous crisis when a proud heart meets with flat- 
tering lips. One of the chief means of dulling the 
Christian graces and deadening the spiritual life is spir- 
itual flattery in which the virtues of Christians are un- 
duly praised. 

He died at night. Next day they came 
To weep and praise him; sudden fame 
Those suddenly warm comrades gave. 
They called him pure, they called him brave; 
One praised his heart, and one his brain; 
All said you'd seek his like in vain — 
Gentle, and strong, and good; none saw 
In all his character a flaw. 

At noon he wakened from his trance, 
Mended — was well! They looked askance; 
Took his hand coldly; loved him not. 
Though they had wept him; quite forgot 
His virtues, lent an easy ear 
To slanderous tongues; professed a fear 
He was not what he seemed to be; 
Gave to his hunger stones for bread; 
And made him, living, wish him dead. 

— E. R. Sill. 

Flatterers are the worst kind of traitors; for they will 
strengthen thy imperfections, encourage thee in all evils, 
correct thee in nothing, but so shadow and paint all thy 
vices and follies, as that thou shalt never, by their will, 
discern evil from good, or vice from virtue. — Raleigh. 



154 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




They murmured against the good man.— Matthew. 
FAULT-FINDING AND COMPLAINING. 

Some murmur if their sky is clear 

And wholly bright to view. 
If one small speck of dark appear 

In their great heaven of blue: 
And some with thankful love are iilled 

If but one streak of light, 
One ray of God's good mercy, gild 

The darkness of their night — Archbishop Trench. 

''What are you crying for, child?" asked a mother. 
''Archie hurt me." "How, pray?" "I was going to hit 
him, when he ducked his head and my fist went against 
the wall." Just as reasonable, just as plausible as this 
boy's statement, is much of the complaining and fault- 
finding of to-day. The real difficulty lies in the dispo- 
sition rather than in external forces. 

An old deacon one day went into a blacksmith shop. 
The blacksmith soon began to talk about what some 
Christians had done, and seemed to have a good time 
over it. The old deacon stood a few minutes and listened, 
and then quietly asked him if he had read the story in 
the Bible about the rich man and Lazarus. "Yes, many 



P^AULT-FINDING AND COMPLAINING. 



155 



a time, and what of it?" "Well, do you remember about 
the dogs — how they came and licked the sores of Laz- 
arus?" ''Yes, and what of that?" "Well," said the deacon, 
"do you know you just remind me of those dogs, content 
merely to lick the Christians' sores." The blacksmith 
suddenly became quiet and had no more to say about 
failing Christians. 

Oliver W^endell Holmes says, "The human race is 
divided into two classes, those who go ahead and do 
something, and those who sit and inquire why it was not 
done the other way." 

Do not, however, fail to distinguish between fault- 
finding and criticism. To say that it is "easy to criticise" 
is not a fact. Anyone can find fault, but it takes a well- 
balanced mind to give a just criticism. The fault-finder 
is not in sympathy with you, while the critic is your 
friend. No one delights in the visits of the faultrfinder, 
but every progressive, fair-minded man courts the opin- 
ions of the critic. Only as we see our mistakes can they 
be remedied. Criticism is a worthy employment, fault- 
finding never. The chronic grumbler or objector de- 
serves nothing but our sincere sympathy. He is gener- 
ally out of harmony with much that is good and beautiful 
and quite frequently with himself. He sees everything 
through the green glasses which he has adjusted and 
cannot be convinced that he is in error. There he comes 
now! He is coming to tell you of his neighbor's short- 
comings. He complains to you of the weather, the sea- 
son, the times, the government; in short, of everything 
and of everybody except himself. Fault-finding, com- 
plaining, grumbling, murmuring is unprofitable business. 
If you have unawares acquired the habit, abandon it at 
once. 



156 TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




What shall the end be?— St. Peter. 
STARTING WRONG. 

" The beginning is half of the whole." 

"Dear me," said little James. "I buttoned just one 
button wrong, and that makes all the rest go wrong," 
and he tugged and fretted as if the poor buttons were 
at fault for his trouble. 

"'Patience, patience,*' said his sister. "The next time 
look out for the first wrong button, then you'll keep all 
the rest right." 

What a practical lesson can be drawn from this 
little boy's mistake. How frequently the first act leads 
to great evils and sad ends. The little boy struck his 
brother. That was the first wrong deed. Then he de- 
nied it. That was another. Then he was unhappy and 
cross all day because he did not tell the truth. 

A young man is convicted of the crime of murder 



STARTING WRONG. 



157 



and must suffer the extreme penalty of the law. His 
broken-hearted mother visits him and says, ''How can 
it be that my boy so gentle, so sympathetic, my boy, 
the pride of my life, should come to an end like this?" 

"^Mother," he sa}'S, ''I did not intend to do it, but 
once startinc" on the wrons; course, I rushed forward till 
in a drunken stupor I committed the crime. Oh, the 
first wrong act! It has brought me here to-day!" 

]\,Ia®}- a youth who is cheered by brilliant possibil- 
ities has had a sad end because of a wrong beginning, 
^lany a useful life is marred and hindered in the attempt 
to greater usefulness by the mistakes of early days. 
Much time is spent in trying to correct the mistakes of 
youthful days. A wrong start, if it does not always lead 
to ruin, at best greatly hinders the full development of 
manly Chiistian character. A right start may not always 
be followed by a virtuous, honorable, respected life, 
but it is a great incentive thereto. Even though there 
should be a deviation from the path of duty, recollections 
of former virtuous days and the voice of conscience fre- 
quently help to a return to the principles actuating at 
starting. 

Start right, young man! A bad foundation has 
ruined many a stately and costly building. Have a clear 
and well-defined aim and plan. The man that starts on 
a journey but has no objective point generally gets no- 
where. The man that has no aim in life, however hard 
he may labor, never accomplishes anything. As drift- 
wood on the current he is a creature of circumstances. 
No one begins well in life who has not a well-defined 
aim, who has not decided what his life shall be. Do 
not stop with a definite aim, but, like the sculptor boy 
who sees the beautiful, finished statue in the rough marble 
stone, carve out that ideal life with the chisel of perse- 
verance into a well-developed Christian manhood. 



158 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




I can do all things through Christ. — St. Paul. 
A DETERMINED WILL. 

"So nigh is grandeur to our dust, 
So near is God to man, 
"When duty whispers low. 'Thou must,' 
The you{h replies. 'I can." ' 

Give a youth resolution and the alphabet, and who shall place limits to 
his career?— Marden. 

The saddest failures in life are those that come from not putting forth 
of the power and wall to suceeed.— Whipple. 

"Only Omnipotence can hinder a determined will, and Omnipotence 
will not oppose a determined man who is set In the right direction." 

A striking example of what a determined will can 
do is seen in the career of Abraham Lincoln. As a boy 
he was very poor and had none of the advantages of edu- 
cation that the youth of to-day enjoy. At one time he 
learned that one of his neighbors had an arithmetic. He 
borrowed the book and in the evenings after a hard day's 



A DETERMINED WILL. 



159 



work he lay upon the log cabin floor and by the light 
of the hearth copied the essential parts of the book. 
Such determination is rarely seen, but it was this spirit 
that placed Lincoln, in spite of poverty and many dis- 
couraging features, at the head of one of the greatest 
nations of the world. 

Is there one whom difficulties dishearten? He will 
do little. Is there one who will conquer? That kind of 
a man never fails. — John Hunter. 

Mirabeau says, ''Nothing is impossible to the man 
who can will." The will is a mighty factor in determin- 
ing man's future. "There are three kinds of people in 
the world — the will's, the won'ts and the can'ts. The 
first accomplish everything; the second oppose every- 
thing; the third fail in everything." This idea of the 
importance of will-power must be emphasized, and yet 
we would not by any means indorse the sentiment that 
there is nothing in circumstances. Not every man that 
wills so to be will rise to the height of a Bonaparte, a 
Gladstone, a Lincoln. There is not always a way where 
there is a will. Not 'every man can make of himself 
just that which he chooses. There is, however, noth- 
ing like a determined will. All men of note have been 
men of determined wills. Will povv^er has forced itself 
up through poverty, through deformity and misfortune, 
through discouragement and prejudice, through defeat, 
if you please, and has at last crowned with laurels its 
happy subject. Grant, Washington, Wellington, Napo- 
leon, Disraeli, Pitt, Thurlow Weed, Cooper, Girard, Ther- 
mopylae, Waterloo, Trafalger are all names that suggest 
a command of extraordinary will-power. A resolute de- 
termination is half the battle of life, but accompanied by 
an untarnished character and an unfaltering faith in God, 
its achievements, are beyond computation. 



160 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Forgetting those things which are behind.— St. Paul. 
STOPPING TO WORRY. 



A man is hurrying to the depot to catch a train. 
He shps on an orange peel or banana skin and the irre- 
sistible temptation is to turn back and see just where 
and how he slipped. He Avill stand a better chance of 
catching his train by letting the old slipping place alone 
and looking out for the next slipping place, than bv 
turning round and walking backwards, Avith his eves on 
the place where he slipped last, and his mind full of 
A\orry because he did slip there. 

We all make mistakes, and if we have our eyes 
open we find out that they are mistakes. One of the 
greatest that mankind makes is to stop and worry over 
a mistake already made. 

AA'orry makes many a life miserable fretting over 
troubles that never come, over evils that never occur, 
over imaginary defeats, over mistakes of the past. 



STOPPING TO WORRY. 



161 



AA'orn', not work, kills. It is worry rather than work 
that enriches the cemetery. And what good comes of 
worry? Xone, absolutely none, whatever. 

Prof. Amos R. Wells says that neither brutes nor 
angels worr\- and advises that we get rid of worries not 
by degenerating to the stupid brute, but by rising to the 
trustful disciple. "There are two ways to get rid of 
worry. One is by less forethought: the other, by more. 
One is by forgetting the coming evil; the other, by re- 
membering the coming jov. One is bv less sensitiveness, 
the other, by more spirituality. One is bv carelessness 
concerning the opinions of others; the other, by thought 
for the happiness of others. One is by disregard of suc- 
cess; the other, by care for our powers to succeed. 
One is by less love: the other, by more. One is by a 
weaker conscience; the other, by a stronger faith." 

Shall we not recognize the elevation in charac- 
ter, the pleasure and the intense delight in always 
and everytime choosing the latter course? Do not 
worry, whatever you do. \A'orry has never helped 
anyone. Do not descend into a plane below it. but 
manfully rise above it. You say you cannot do it. You 
can do it with God's help. AVith a firm trust in God's 
ability to help you, bring to bear upon all circumstances 
all the cheerfulness, hope, trust, common sense, courage 
and whole-hearted enthusiasm and persistence you can 
summons, and worry will vanish like mists before a 
morning sun. Others have troubles as well as you. 
Contrast them with yours and the light that falls upon 
your own blessings will cause the burdens you have to 
bear to lighten and disappear. 

There is no trouble so great that prayer, courage, 
determination and faith cannot overcome it, and no 
earthly shadow so deep and dark that the light of heaven 
mav not shine throus^h it. 

II 



162 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Let no man's beart fail.— David. 
BRIGHT SIDE OF FAILURE. 

He fails who climbs to power and place 

Up the pathway of disgrace. 

He fails not who makes truth his cause, 

Nor bends to win the crowd's applause. 

He fails not— he who stakes his all 

Upon the right, and dares to fall. 

What though the living bless or blame. 

For him the long success of fame.— R. W. Gilder. 

Robert Bruce, discouraged and disheartened by re- 
peated defeats, one night reached a poor hut under whose 
thatched roof he tried to rest till morning. Throwing 
himself upon a heap of straw he lay upon his back with 
his hands placed under his head. As the morning dawned 
he gazed at the rafters of the hut disfigured with cob- 
webs. Forgetting for a time the apparent hopelessness 
of the enterprise in which he was engaged, and the mis- 
fortunes he had encountered, he watched a spider try- 
ing to swing itself by its thread from one rafter to an- 
other, but failing repeatedly, each time vibrating back 
to the starting. Twelve times did he notice its unsuc- 
cessful attempt. Not disheartened at its failure, it made 



BRIGHT SIDE OF FAILURE. 



163 



the attempt once more, and lo! the rafter was gained. 
"The thirteenth time," said Bruce, springing to his feet. 
'T accept it as a lesson not to despond under difficuhies 
and shall once more venture my life in the struggle for 
the independence of my beloved country." History 
records the result. Success crowned his efforts, and it is 
said that he never afterw^ard met with any great defeat. 

If the little ant does not succeed the ninety-ninth time 
in carrying its food to its home it makes the hundredth 
effort. Sometimes we learn more wisdom from failures 
than from success. 

A little boy was asked how he learned to skate. He 
replied, "Oh, by getting up every time I fell down." 

Peter Cooper failed in making hats, failed as a cabi- 
net-maker, locomotive builder and grocer, but as often 
as he failed he "tried again," until he could stand alone; 
then crowned his victory by giving $1,000,000 to help 
poor boys in time to come. 

Horace Greeley tried three or four lines of business 
before he founded the Tribune, and made it worth 
$1,000,000. 

Patrick Henry failed at everything he undertook un- 
til he made himself the ornament of his age and nation. 

Stephen A.Douglas made dinner tables and bedsteads 
and bureaus many a long year before he made himself 
a giant on the floor of Congress. 

Abraham Lincoln failed to make both ends meet by 
chopping wood; failed to earn his salt in the galley-slave 
life of a Mississippi flatboatman ; he had not even wit 
to run a grocery, and yet he made himself a grand charac- 
ter of the nineteenth century. 

Phillip's Brooks failed as a teacher in a Boston 
Latin school, but, undaunted by disappointments, and 
predictions of friends, he became one of the richest na- 
tures and noblest preachers oi the century. 



164 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




STONEWALL JACKSON. GEN. BURNSIDE., 

Opposing Brigadier Generals at Bull Run. 



Cast down, but not destroyed.— St. Paul. 
VICTORY IN DEFEAT. 

The failures of the past prepare the triumphs of the future.— Max Muller. 

Tumble me down, and I will sit 

Upon my ruins, smiling yet; 

Tear me to tatters, yet I'll be 

Patient in my necessity; 

Laugh at my scrap of clothes, and shun 

Me as a fear'd infection; 

Yet scare-crow like I'll walk as one 

Neglecting thy derision.— Robert Herrick. 

Henry Ward Beecher, in his only novel, ''Norwood/' 
has this to say of the battle of Bull Run, fouoht in 
1861: 

"On the 2 1 St of July was fought the battle of Bull 
Run — a most victorious defeat. It ended all over-confi- 
dence in the North. It inspired the South with such 
vainglorious confidence that it failed, for a year or more, 
to put forth that power which it had, and then it was too 
late. It ended all lingering ideas of peace. It cast the 
most profound gloom upon the loyal states — a night of 
shame and sorrow. But out of that night there arose a 



VICTORY IN DEFEAT. 



165 



morning of purpose such as had not dawned before! 
There was to be a long and thorough war, and prepara- 
tion must be broad and thorough ! The whole after-fruit 
of this defeat upon the North was bitter to the palate, but 
wholesome to the people and salutary to the Govern- 
ment." 

It,,-is all very well to tell me that a young man has 
distinguished himself by a brilliant first speech. He 
may go on, or he may be satisfied with his first triumph; 
but show' me a young man who has not succeeded at first, 
and nevertheless has gone on, and I will back that young 
man to do better than most of those who have succeeded 
at the first trial. — Charles J. Fox. 

Goldsmith endured privations and untold hardships 
before his "Deserted Village" and his "Vicar of Wake- 
fieid'' won him. success and fame. Samuel Johnson, who 
wrote, "Slowly rises worth by poverty depressed," was 
held in the clutches of poverty and debt until his Dic- 
tionary, a work of seven years, was published. Then his 
name was on every lip, while universities hastened to 
bestow degrees. Elias Howe, the inventor of the sew- 
ing machine; Arkwright, celebrated for his inventions 
in cotton spinning; Arthur Cavanagh, a noted member 
of Parliament, born without arms or legs; Columbus dis- 
missed from court as a fool; these and hosts of others 
encountered cruel failure, which only strengthened their 
purpose, as the winds and storms do the oak. The 
determined soul laughs at failures and makes stepping- 
stones to greater victories. John Bunyan utilizes his 
imprisonment in a dungeon by writing ''Pilgrim's Prog- 
ress" and makes his name known and cherished through 
the ages down to the end of time. Then push on through 
adverse circumstances with a gallant heart. Pay the price 
of great achievements and thou shaft win. 



166 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




CHARLES XII, 
His heart was lighted up to his destruction.— Chrorucles. 
DEFEAT IN VICTORY. 

While there may be victory in defeat, there may alsc 
be defeat in victory. When Charles XII. of Sweden set 
out on his audacious career he gained a brilliant victory 
over the Russians at Narva. Dr. Horton says that that 
was, strictly speaking, his ruin; it launched him upon a 
series of brilliant but ineffectual victories which brought 
no good to Europe and infinite harm to Sweden. From 
her great king's ''successes'' Sweden has never yet, and 
now, perhaps, never can recover. Happy king and happy 
country if her forces had been routed at the beginning 
and the king had been sent home to govern and develop 
his country! The world teems with ruined lives which 
were started on their path of ruin by a delusive Narva! 
"From our victories, good Lord, deliver us; from our 
misleading successes and alluring accidents of luck, good 



DEFEAT I'N VICTORY. 



167 



Alas for these successful men whose lives are un- 
checkered with failure and trouble! Is not God, as Jeremy 
Taylor put it, "severely kind" to them? Might they not 
pray for some of the chastisements which a Father does 
not spare his children? Is not even disaster welcome 
which teaches self-sacrifice, compassion, charity, religion? 
The last thing we should desire for those whom we love 
is rapid and startling success. "Deliver us from pre- 
mature success" should be our prayer; "let it come, if 
at all, as our nature is strengthened to receive it and 
secured against its dangerous influences." A sudden 
gleam of its false light may send us along a fatal course 
and land us in a quagmire. 

"Ruined by success" is an epitaph that might very 
appropriately be placed upon the tomb of many a hap- 
less youth. Flattery and praise, even at times so well 
meant but so cruel in fact, given when in the start a 
brilliant effort is made, have brought ruin to many a 
one who rested where bright deeds were done. The 
chilling blasts of adversity, the storms of failure and 
defeat have on the other hand nerved the arm of many 
who have snatched victory from apparent defeat. 

Look at that noble youth, the pride of fond parents. 
All that parental af¥ection and wealth can give are freely 
his. With a naturally bright intellect he rises and easily 
stands first in his college class. On graduation day his 
brilliant and rhetorical address awakens unbounded ap- 
plaAise. "A brilliant future," sav his admirers. But 
mark! He has not learned to stand alone; he knows noth- 
ing of the strengthening properties and nerve imparted 
by difficulties, obstacles, failures and defeats. The first 
Vvind of adversity lays him low. He has not learned the 
art of rising, and, depending upon the great achieve- 
ments of the past, sinks hopelessly out of sight. 

"He who stops Avhere bright deeds were done. 
May look for stars heneatb the midday sun," 




A GERMAN GIRL RETURNING FROM MARKET. 
Gather up the fragment— Jesus Christ. 
ECONOMY. 

Economy— the poor man's mint.— Tupper. 
Beware of little extravagances; a small leak will sink a big ship.— 
Franklin. 

Whatever be your talents, whatever be your prospects, never speculate 
away on the chance of a palace that which you may need as a provision against 
the workhouse.— Bulwer. 

George Schorb says, "What's the good of yoiir 
pocket if it has a hole in it? Payday with some famihes 



ECONOMY. 



169 



means the day to pay debts, because they are a month 
or more behind. There is more than one kind of intem- 
perance. Intemperance in eating, as a rule, costs more 
than intemperance in drinking. Many poor families buy 
everything they see in the markets, eat too much, and 
throw enough into the stove and garbage-box to sup- 
port a small family." 

The want of economy has ruined many a man who 
otherwise was possessed of excellent traits of character. 
Not a few men in our large cities are receiving hand- 
some salaries, but the month's expenses are always equal 
thereto; they never get ahead; they never accumulate, and 
hence, never have the extreme satisfaction of owning a 
home of their own. "Live within your means" is a good 
motto, but a still better is, save something to-day for a 
time of need. 

Too many practice economy on the principle con- 
trolling the Irishman. He was urged to lay by some- 
thing for a rainy day. When asked soon after how much 
he had accumulated, he replied, "Faith, nothing at all. 
Yesterday was a rainy day and I spent it all — for drink." 

We urge economy but with the same emphasis dep- 
recate miserliness. There is a happy medium between it 
and extravagance. This golden mean is not hard to find. 
Choosing either of the others will surely ruin the char- 
acter. We are, however, as a people rather inclined to 
extravagance than to avariciousness. Economize and 
bear, if you must, the ridicule of the extravagant. Their 
folly will be short-lived. 

Economize in the use of your time. It is by making 
use of the spare moments, the odds and ends of time 
which some so carelessly throw away, that great men 
have risen to prominence. It is by making use of the 
moments and filling each well as it passes that men suc- 
ceed in crowding so much into a short lifetime. 

Economize your strength and all your powers for 
useful ends. 



170 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




AVe are well able to overcome it— 

We are not able to go up against ttie people.— Numbers, 



AS YOU SEE IT. 

Ten spies reported of the land of Canaan. Eight 
saw nothing but giants. Two saw a land flowing with 
milk and honey. And thus it has ever been. 

Two boys went to hunt grapes. One was happy 
because they found grapes. The other was unhappy 
because the grapes had seeds in them. 

Two men, being convalescent, were asked how they 
were. One said: "I am better to-day.'' The other said: 
''I was worse yesterday." 

\A^hen it rains, one man says: "This will make mud." 
Another: "This will lay the dust." 

Two boys examining a bush, one observed that it 
had a thorn, The other that it had a rose. 



AS YOU SEE IT. 



171 



Two children looking through colored glasses, one 
said: "The world is blue." And the other said: 'It is 
bright." 

Two boys eating their dinner, one said: 'T would 
rather have something better than this." The other said: 
"This is better than nothing." 

Two men went to see New York. One visited the 
saloons, and thought New York wicked. The other vis- 
ited the homes, and thought New York good. 

Two boys looking at skaters, one said: "See how 
they fall." The other: "See how they glide." 

A servant thinks a man's house is principally kitchen. 
A guest that it is principally parlor. 

Two boys having a bee, one got honey and the other 
got stung. The first called it a honey-bee, and the other, 
a stinging-bee. 

Two boys got each an apple. One was thankful for 
the apple. The other was dissatisfied because it was not 
two. 

"I am glad that I live," says one man. "I am sorry 
that I must die," says another. 

"I am glad," says one, "that it is no worse." "I am 
sorry," says another, "that it is no better." 

One man spoils a good repast by thinking of a bet- 
ter repast of another. Another enjoys a poor repast by 
contrasting it with none at all. 

One man is thankful for his blessings. Another is 
morose for his misfortunes. 

One man thinks he is entitled to a better world and 
is dissatisfied because he hasn't got it. Another thinks 
he is not justly entitled to any and is satisfied with this. 

One man enjoys what he has. Another suf¥ers what 
he has not. 

One man complains that there is evil in the world. 
Another rejoices that there is good in the world. 



172 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




He that overcometh shall inherit all things .—Revelations. 

OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES. 

The more difficulties one lias to encounter, within and without, the 
more significant and the higher in inspiration his life will be.— Bushnell. 
Nature, when she adds difficulties, adds brains.— Emerson. 

Many men owe the grandeur of their lives to their tremendous difficul- 
ties.— Spurgeon. 

John Carter, whom our artist has sketched, is one 
of the remarkable men who have achieved success un- 
der more than ordinary difficulties. When he was 
twenty years old he fell from a high tree and was taken 
up as dead. He lived but was paralyzed from the neck 
downward. Thus he lived fourteen years longer. He 
learned to use the pencil with his mouth. The beauti- 
ful etchings drawn in this way were admired by the best 
artists. Such invincible courage and self-reliance 
''ought to put strength into the weakest heart that shrinks 
disheartened from its appointed lot in life." It puts to 
shame those who with sound bodies and perfect senses 
are overcome by the trivial obstacles in their way. 

No man has yet found a royal road to victory that 



OVERCOMING DIFFICULTIES. 



173 



is worth having. If victory is indeed achieved it is at 
the expense of hard and persistent toil— of repeated and 
continued encounters with opposing forces. DifficuUies 
are but tests to increase our faith and earnestness. They 
are to man what the resistance of the air is to the bird 
or the surface of a kite. God has hidden away the 
treasures and secret forces of nature that man may by 
searching develop the intellect and strengthen the char- 
acter. 

Disraeli might have given up after his first speech 
in the House of Commons. The light of events give 
sublimity to his words, "The day will come when you will 
be glad to hear me." Tennyson might have been dis- 
heartened bv the sharp reviews of his first volume. 
Thackeray might have given up wdien the publishers 
rejected ''Vanity Fair." George Stephenson might have 
yielded to despair when his railroad and locomotive were 
laughed out of the Parliament committee. It is said that 
Anaxarchus, when his bones were being crushed, cried 
out, "Thou canst not crush my mind." 

'Taradise Lost" is now an essential in every library, 
and yet we do not often stop to think that its author 
was the blind Milton. Palissy, the potter, overcame the 
hardships. of poverty, abuse and ridicule, and after six- 
teen years became famous. Afterward this sincere, 
earnest and courageous man was thrown into the Bastile 
as a heretic. His works to-day are almost beyond price. 
Arkwright, celebrated for his inventions in cotton spin- 
ning, was of humble origin and attained to success only 
after much opposition and many privations. Ask these 
and a thousand other men whose names are inscribed 
indelibly on history's page, ask them if it pays to per- 
severe in the face of apparent insurmountable difficul- 
ties. Their records give no uncertain reply. 



174 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Louis Agassiz. who refused to lecture at any price, because he had no 
time to mal-^e money. 

If riches increase, set not your heart on them.— Solomon. 

THE DELUSION OF RICHES. 

Contentment is nature's riches.— ^Socrates. 
111 fares the land, to hastening ills a prey. 
Where wealth accumulates and men decay.— Goldsmith. 
To be content with what we possess is the greatest and most secure of 
riches.— Cicero. 

At the laying of the cornerstone of the Washington 
monument, July 4, 1848, Mr. Winthrop said: "Build it 
to the skies — you cannot outreach the loftiness of his 
principles : found it upon the massive and eternal rock — 
you cannot make it more enduring than his fame; con- 
struct of the purest Parian marble — you cannot make 
it purer than his life." 

Webster said that if our American institutions had 
done nothing else but furnish the character of Washing- 
ton, that alone would have entitled them to the respect of 
mankind. 



THE DELUSION OF Kl( HES. 



175 



In the light of these commendations, that might be 
greatly multiplied, may we not do well to stop and ask 
ourselves, what, then, this striving for wealth as the 
highest ideal of life means? Is it indeed a delusion, and 
are the highest ideals best reached from the humble 
home? Prof. Swing says that nearly the whole column 
of great names stands upon the bedrock of humble prop- 
erty. Our statesmen, our thinkers, our writers, 
our judges on the bench, our orators, have all 
been born poor. The pursuit and the possession of 
money clip the wings of the soul. In all the history of 
man the pursuit of gold has w-arred against the develop- 
ment of self. All through literature, all through art, the 
plain cottage, the unpretending home, stands for the 
triumph of earth. 

Yes, the sentiment prevalent in our day that wealth 
gives success, is a delusion, a great delusion. The 
tcudc]icy of riches is to cause men to deteriorate in those 
qualities that are most elevating and Christlike. Where 
wealth increases, there is needed more moral strength to 
keep from influences that demoralize. 

"Cash or Character," is the form that the question 
takes with many men in their accumulation of w^ealth. 
Riches never give character, although there are not a few 
men of wealth whose force of character was strong 
enough to withstand the temptation of riches. Wealth 
tends to make men trust it. It often makes them in- 
dolent, proud, self-indulgent. Luxury insidiously eats 
away the nobler traits of character. 

One of the happiest traits of character is to be rich 
without much money — rich in intellect, rich in ideas, rich 
in deeds, rich in health and cheerfulness, rich in soul. 
Where is the millionaire that in nobility stands as an 
equal to a Gladstone, a Henry Wilson, or a Sumner? 



176 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Charles H. Spurgeon, who would not speak for fifty nights in America 
at one thousand dollars a night, because he said he could do better by staying 
in London, trying to save fifty souls in that time. 

Neither count I my life dear unto myself.— St. Paul. 

THE SUCCESSFUL LIFE. 

According to the most common idea among men, he 
that makes the most money is the most successful. The 
standard so often adopted to measure or weigh every- 
thing by a money value is a false one. Money has its 
uses. The lack of it is hard to bear. But they are not 
the highest and best powers that are called forth in the 
acquisition of money. To amass a fortune is not neces- 
sarily the highest success. To miss a fortune is not of 
necessity a dismal failure. Poverty and scanty means are 
in no way or sense desirable, but we would make very 
emphatic and press upon the attention of youth every- 
where that man's success or happiness is not measured 
by his bank account. 



THE SUCCESSFT'L LIFE. 



177 



The successful man is the one that understands the 
true meaning of hfe, that takes its outlook on to another 
stage of existence, but has the heart to rejoice in human 
affections, that shows sympathy toward his fellow man in 
all his dealings, that can find true enjoyment in doing his 
daily work of whatever character that be. that has an eye 
for the beauties of nature all around him, that, while "not 
destitute of honorable ambition, has learned contentment 
with his lot in life, and that is readv to do what he can to 
make the lot of others brighter and better. This man 
is not controlled by the rule of gold, but by the golden 
rule. 

^^'e often set up as a model the man with a large for- 
tune, rather than the man of integrity of soul, and urge 
our youth to emulate him. If fortune fails to smile on us 
in filling our coft'ers. we count that we have not made a 
success in life. 

A man may be a merchant prince and in commercial 
prosperity a grand success, but if lust of accumulation has 
eaten out all the finer qualities of the soul, the sympathy 
and affection for others, the desire to make others happy, 
the determination to live for God and the welfare of hu- 
manity, he is a lamentable failure. 

The highest and best sense in which a life is a suc- 
cess is within the reach of everyone. The successful life 
is a happy one, availing itself of the many advantages of 
personal culture, enjoying the sweetness and comfort ®f 
home, no matter how simple or even scanty the material 
furnishing mav be. Above all money considerations, we 
may de\'elop sterling, manly characters and have here 
and now the joy of heaven in our hearts and the life of 
heaven in our lives. 

Character, true, sterling. Christian character, is in 
itself success. Without it even the millionaire is a failure. 

12 



178 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Ye looked for much; it came to little,— Haggai. 
TRIFLES. 

•'The smallest crust may save a human life; 
The smallest act may lead to human strife; 
The smallest touch may cause the body pain; 
The smallest spark may lire a field of grain; 
The smallest deed may kill the truly brave; 
The smallest skill may serve a life to save; 
The smallest drop the thirsty may relieve; 
The slightest shock may wake a heart to grieve; 
Naught is so small that it may not contain 
The rose of pleasure or the thorn of pain." 



The people of Holland watch for the smallest leak in 
the dyke. They well know that if permitted to increase, a 



TRIFLES. 



179 



few hours may bring devastation to their homes and their 
lands. Above is illustrated the boy who, in passing 
the dyke, heard the trickling of water. He placed his 
finger into the leak and for a whole night remained at his 
post rather than permit the waters to sweep away their 
homes. Exhausted, he was found next morning, and for 
this brave act was generously rewarded. The water 
issuing from the leak was a trifle, but not so the results, 
had it not been for the bravery of the boy. 

An infidel German countess, dying, gave orders that 
her grave should be covered with a solid slab of granite, 
and around it square blocks of stone. These were to be 
fastened together by clamps. On the stone were cut 
these words: "This burial place, purchased to all eter- 
nity, must never be opened." A little seed sprouted under 
the covering and the tiny shoot found its way through 
between two of the slabs and grew there until it burst the 
clamps asunder and lifted the immense rocks. 

Alpine guides sometimes come to places where vast 
avalanches lie above. These are often so exactly bal- 
anced that the echo and vibration of the air produced 
by shouts and loud talking are sufficient to break the last 
icicle that holds it, and down it comes. In passing such 
places, the guide does not permit a word to be spoken. 
Thus the smallest circumstance may determine destruc- 
tion. As trains are destroyed by the movement of a 
switch no more than the tenth part of an inch, so trifles 
sometimes determine, in a critical hour, men's fate for 
time and for eternity. Thirty years ago a man brought 
a handful of gypsy moths to this country for scientific 
experiment. Some escaped, and it has already cost the 
state of Massachusetts $700,000 to exterminate them. 
Evil thoughts multiply even more rapidly and are more 
destructive. 



180 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




In honor preferring one another.— St. Paul. 
CIVILTY. 



A modest, sensible and well-bred man would not insult me, and no other 
can.— Cowper. 

Conduct is three-fourths of life.— Matthew Arnold. 

A well-dressed young lady, in hastily turning a cor- 
ner in a large city, ran against a little ragged newsboy 
and almost knocked him down. Instead of passing on 
as many would have done, she quickly turned around and 
said, "I beg your pardon, little fellow; I am sorry that 
I ran against you." The little boy, who had never had 
anyone offer him an apology, was perplexed, but quickly 
gained self-possession and said, "You are welcome, and 
the next time you run against me you can knock me 
clean down and I'll not say a word." He was touched 



CIVILTY. 



381 



with kindness shown to him. What burdens of Hfe could 
be Hfted if good, refined ma<nners were used in address- 
ing those less fortunate than ourselves. 

Good manners should not be a sort of affectation 
that can be put off and on at pleasure, but in the true 
gentleman are part of himself. Sincerity, charity and 
unselfishness, a friendly feeling toward our fellow men, 
are all needed to make up a refined individual. President 
Ouincy, of Harvard University, was once riding in a 
stage coach. A poor colored woman entered; he arose 
and gave her his seat. 

Thomas Jefferson, riding with his grandson, met 
a slave who took off his hat and politely bowed. The 
President recognized the salutation and returned it by 
lifting his hat. The grandson wholly ignored the respect 
shown by the negro. Jefferson said, "Do you, my grand- 
son, permit a slave to be more of a gentleman than you 
yourself are?" 

Queen Victoria once showed a haughty spirit toward 
her husband, Prince Albert. He resented it and locked 
himself in his room. In a short time someone knocked. 
"Who is there?" inquired Albert. "It is I, the Queen of 
England." was the haughty reply. The Prince made no 
further reply. Some time after the Queen came again 
and gently tapped, saying in a low voice, "It is I, Victoria, 
your wife." The door was opened at once and the dis- 
agreement ended. 

Douglas on being abused in the Senate, said, "What 
no gentleman should say no gentleman need answer." 

There is at this day, undeniably, among the rising 
generation, a lack of courteous demeanor in the family. 
Of all the places in the world, let the boy understand 
that home is the place where he should speak the gentlest 
and the most kindly, and there is the place, above all, 
where courteous demeanor should prevail. 



182 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance.— Solomon. 
CHEERFULNESS 

"Smile once in a while. 

'Twill make your heart seem lighter, 
Smile once in a while, 

'Twill make your pathway brighter. 
Life's a mirror; if we smile. 

Smiles come back to greet ns— 
If we're frowning all the while, 

Frowns forever meet us." 



CHEERiFULNElS'S. 



183 



Cheerfulness does not depend on one's circum- 
stances or condition. It is a matter of one's spirit, not of 
one's possessions. A bright face and sunny looks are 
often seen on one who is in sickness or in bodily pain. 

Next to the sunlight of heaven is the cheerful face. 
One glance at it lifts us out of the mists and shadows 
into the beautiful realm of hope. One cheerful face in 
the household will keep everything warm and light 
within; even though it be a very plain face, its cheery 
smile sends the blood dancing through the veins for joy 
and scatters the shadows of gloom and despondency. 

Said a person to an old m.an, "I suppose you are on 
the shady side of seventy." "No," w^as the reply, ''I am 
on the sunny side, for I am on the side nearest to heaven." 

Southey says that the Spaniards put on spectacles 
when about to eat cherries so as to make the fruit look 
larger and more tempting. In like manner should we 
make the most of our enjoyments and turn our backs 
upon despair, gloom and depressed spirits. 

Hide your aching heart behind a sweet smile — and 
laugh. Laughter is a tonic. It should be indulged in 
for health and comfort's sake. Titus used to say that he 
had lost a day when it was passed without laughter. The 
pilgrims of Mecca considered it so essential a part of 
their devotion that they called upon their prophet to save 
them from, sad faces. 

Giggling is silly. In its use and propriety it dif¥ers 
greatly from laughter. Do not giggle. But have a good 
hearty laugh once in a while. 

Cheerfulness makes men preeminently useful. If 
you wish to live a useful life, then prolong it and make 
the most of it by wearing a cheerful countenance. Cheer- 
fulness gives us physical, mental and moral vigor. It 
is the normal atmosphere of the soul. 



184 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




A MOTHER'S BLESSING. 
Forsake not the law of thy mother.— Proverbs. 

The character, teaching, example and training of 
the mother arc, generahy, the destiny of the child. From 
the Christian home, which cannot exist without the 
Christian mother, must flow forth the stream of virtue 
that shall refresh the arid and parched deserts of sin and 
unbelief. The mothers, for the most part, ''make the 
children," either for good or for evil. Byron's mother 
v/as proud, ih-tempered and violent. Nero's mother was 
a murderess, Lord Bacon's mother was a woman of 
superior mind and of deep piety. Washington's mother 
was pious, pure and true. The intelligence, piety and 
executive ability of .Susanna Wesley miade her, through 
lier sons, so remarkable that she was called ''the mother 
of Methodism." If the inquiry is made as to the great- 
ness of a man, the answer is generally found in noble 



A MOTHER'S BI.ESSIXG. 



185 



motherhood. Garibaldi says of his mother, ''She was a 
model for mothers. I owe to her angel-like character the 
little good that belongs to mine." George Herbert says, 
"One good mother is worth a hundred schoolmasters." 
James Watts' mother was a cheerful, intelligent woman, 
always encouraging her son in his inventive genius. 
''The kiss of my mother made me a painter," says Benja- 
min West. ''I have found out who made you," said a 
gentleman to John Ouincy Adams. "What do. you 
mean?" said Adams. The gentleman replied, "I have 
been reading the published letters of your mother, and 
they tell what I mean." "Yes/' said Adams, "all that is 
good in me I owe to my mother!" 

Melanchthon says of Luther's mother, "She was 
especially notable for her chaste conversation, godly fear 
and diligent prayer, and was looked upon as a model of 
virtue and honesty." 

What noble youth does not ascribe any success with 
which he may have met to a mother's blessing, a mother's 
prayers, a mother's nobility of character? "Give 
me," says Garibaldi, "the mothers of the nation 
to educate and you may do wha t you like with 
the boys." Often amid the trying scenes of an eventful 
life the memory of a mother's parting blessing has given 
new inspiration to a discouraged and probably almost dis- 
heartened soul and spurred it on to victory. 

Dr. Cuyler says, 'T doubt if I ever would have been 
drawn to the service of Christ Jesus but for the faithful- 
ness of that home preacher who rocked my cradle. At 
the starting point of nearly every minister's life stands a 
Christian mother. Dr. Potts requested all of us students 
in Princeton Theological Seminary who had praying 
mothers to rise up, and in an instant nearly the whole one 
hundred and fifty were on their feet, living witnesses of 
the power cf a mother's prayers, influence and example." 



186 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




J. A.^GARFIELD. A. LINCOLN. BENJ. WEST. 

WM. COBBETT. GEO. STEPHENSON. RICHARD ARKWRIGHT. 



Their poverty abounded unto riches.— St. Paul. 

FAMOUS SONS OF POVERTY. 

It is not usually the case that from the ranks of 
wealth and ease men come forth to do grand things. 
Poverty has in many cases wrought wonders, while 
wealth has enjoyed herself in her abundance. Guthrie 
says that those birds soar the highest that have had 
the hardest upbringing. Warm and soft is the pretty 
nest where, under the cover of her wings, amid green 
leaves and golden tassels and the perfume of flowers, the 
mother bird, of sweet voice, but short and feeble flight, 
rears her tender brood. Not thus are eagles reared. 
Their cradle is an open shelf; their nest a few rough 
sticks spread on the bare rock, w^here they are exposed to 
the rain and the blast that howls through the glen. 



FAMOUS SONS OF FOYERTY. 



187 



Such is the nursing of the bird that afterward soars in 
sunny skies and with strong wings cleaves the clouds 
and rides upon the storm. Even so God often nurses 
amid difficulties and hardships those who are destined 
to rise to eminence and accomplish great deeds on earth. 

The leaders of forv/ard movements in all lines of 
activity have, as a rule, come from the poorer classes. 
Men prominent in invention, discovery and scientific 
research have usually gone through the school of 
adversity. Luther was the son of a poor mountaineer; 
Kepler spent his days in want; Faraday's faithful care 
as scullion in Davy's kitchen led him from poverty to 
world-wide renown. Newton was the son of a poor 
widow. Ferguson's parents were too poor to send him 
to school, hut as a shepherd's boy, with a string and a 
few beads he marked the movement of the stars. James 
Watt, the inventor of the steam engine, was a poor, sickly 
child. George Stephenson, the inventor of the locomo- 
tive engine, was a common collier working in the mines. 
Linnaeus, studying botany, was so poor as to be obliged 
to mend his shoes with folded paper and often to beg 
his meals of his friends. Robert Burns. Scotland's 
born-poet, if ever poet was born, endured the sorrows 
and trials attendant upon a constant struggle to keep the 
wolf from the door. It was his own experience that 
made him able to so thoroughly identify himself with 
the suffering poor as to voice their sentiments, aspira- 
tions, regrets and griefs. 

Richard Arkwright, noted for his inventions in 
spanning, was of humble origin and was brought up in 
poverty. At one time he had to be furnished with a suit 
of clothes before he could appear to vote at an election. 
And yet this man, knighted by the king and universally 
honored, died, worth more than two millions of dollars. 



188 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Every man shall bear his own burden.— St. Paul. 
LIFTERS AND LEANERS. 

There are two kinds of people on earth to-day. 

Just two kinds of people, no more, I say. 

Not the rich and the poor, for to count a man"s wealth. 

You must first know the state of his conscience and health. 

Not the humble and proud, for in life's little span 

Who puts on vain airs is not counted a man. 

Not the happy and sad. for the swift flying years 

Brings each man his laughter and each man his tears. 

No: the two kinds of people on earth I mean. 

Are the people who lift, and the people who lean. 

Wherever you go. you will find the world's masses 

Are always divided in just these two classes. 

And oddly enough, yoii will find, too, I ween, 

There is only one lifter to twenty who lean. 

In which class are you? Are you easing the load 

Of overtaxed lifters who toil down the road? 

Or are you a leaner, who lets others bear 

Your i)brtion of labor and worrv and care? 

—Ella Wheeler Wilcox. 

Did you ever see a boy leaning on his neighbor in 
school? Of course you did. The scene depicted by our 
artist is of too frequent occurrence to need explanation. 

If schooldays were to end this spirit of leaning, then 
it might be a trivial affair, but this same spirit is ex- 
hibited in all avenues and w'alks of life. In a certain 



sense we are all dependent upon one another. "Xo 



LIFTERS AND LEANERS. 



189 



man liveth to himself." But in another sense we ought 
to be able to help ourselves and others instead of being 
leaners and dependent upon others. 

The reason why there is a score of leaners to one 
lifter is found in the fact that there are so many who are 
willing to be helped by others, rather than help them- 
selves. Much of the misery and suffering brought about 
by poverty could be averted were there not such an 
inclination to lean. Others have plenty, and why do 
they not owe us much of that which they cannot use? 
To depend upon them seems so much easier than to 
struggle for oneself. x\t the bottom of the make-up 
of these leaners there is always a large vein of laziness. 
The man that is tirelessly industrious has no time to 
lean. He is always helping- himself and is looking 
around to help someone else. 

Are there leaners in the moral and religious world? 
Who has not seen them? Xot in prayer-meeting, for 
they are too busy to attend; not in looking after and 
caring for the sick and neglected ones, for they believe 
in delegating that work to others better fitted. These 
leaners are always ready to take the credit to themselves 
when anything of note has been accomplished, but when 
earnest, hard labor is at hand they are wanting. Oh, these 
leaners! What burdens they might lift from the shoul- 
ders of others, if they were only to do their part in lift- 
ing. Lifters or leaners, which shall it be? 

Leaners, always borrowing but never lending. 
Leaners in business af¥airs, depending upon others to 
carry them through financial straits. Leaners in politics, 
always voting the party ticket, because others do. Lean- 
ers in church and state. Leaners everywhere. What a 
motley crowd! Be a lifter, and benefit the world by 
your presence. 



100 



TRAITS OF CHARA(^TEPv. 




MRS. LIVINGSTONE'S GRAVE IX AFRICA 
Bear ye one another's burdens, — St. Patil. 

LIVING SO AS TO BE MISSED. 



''Live so as to be missed" was tlie motto of Robert 
?\Iurray 3IcCheyiie, an able and devoted minister o'f 
Dmidee, Scotland, who in his short lifetime furnished 
tlie best illustration of his own motto. Althoug-h his 
work was done and his career was ended before he was 
tliirty years of ag'e. and although he passed away more 
than half a century ago. vet the Wijrk that he inaugurated 
lives, and his earlv departure is still deplored by those 
who knew him. 

It is pcss-ble for everyone to live so as to be missed. 
Greatness cf intellect or of wealth are not essential for 
this purpose, but greatness cf soul, a spirit of helpful- 
ness, a magnanimity that reaches all men is a necessity 
in the luiiilling cf this motto. Dr. F. A. Xoble says: 



LIVING SO .iS TO BE MISSED. 



191 



"To me that is a pathetic touch in the Scripture 
narrative in which it is said: 'And Deborah, Rebekah's 
nurse, died, and she was buried below Bethel under the 
oak; and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth.' This 
nurse had done her work in love and with fidelity, though 
it was a lowly work, and they laid her away tenderly 
under 'the oak of weeping.' She was missed as her 
mistress was missed. There is many a faithful old gate- 
keeper or sexton, or gardener, or foreman, or confiden- 
tial agent, who is missed as genuinely when gone, though 
not so widely as a proprietor or capitalist." 

It is the faithfulness in the performance of the duty at 
hand that makes men revere our memory after we are 
gone. ''Only remembered by what I have done," wTOte 
P. P. Bliss a short time before the Ashtabula catastro- 
phe that ended his useful Hfe, and yet, down through the 
ages of time liis sacred songs will be sung, a warning 
to the thoughtless, an invitation to the weary and heavy- 
laden, and a comfort to the Christian pilgrim as he moves 
up the pathway of light. 

Livingstone, who died in the heart of Africa, alone 
and without friends, to soothe a dying pillow, has done a 
thousand-fold more for the enlightenment of the Dark 
Continent than he could have done while alive. Those 
who gave their lives in pioneer mission work, like Henry 
Martyn or Alexander Dufi; those who died as miartyrs 
to the cause of freedom and liberty, as a Lincoln; those 
who lived lives of helpfulness, all these, although dead, 
they yet speak. They need no tall shafts to keep their 
memories green in the hearts of their fellow citizens. 
It is these lives of helpfulness of devoted men and 
women that live on after they are gone and that awaken 
in the youth of every age an enthusiasm; it is these lives 
that make practical the motto, "Live so as to be missed." 



192 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




I will make thy name great. — Jehovah. 
THE SECRET OF GREATNESS. 

Great may he be who can command 

And rule with just and tender sway; 
Yet is diviner wisdom taught 

Better by him who can obey. 
Blessed are they who die for God 

And earn the'martyr's crown of light; 
Yet he w ho lives for'God may be 

A greater conqueror in His*^ sight. 

—Adelaide Proctor. 

An African prince who was sent on an embassy with 
costly presents for Queen Victoria, from an Ethiopian 
court, preferred a modest request that England's beloved 
sovereign would tell him the secret of England's great- 
ness and glory. Her majesty did not, like Hezekiah, 
show the embassador her diamonds and her precious 
jew^els and her rich ornaments, but, handing him a beau- 
tifully bound copy of the Bible, said, "Tell the prince that 
this is the secret of England's greatness." 

An African heathen was eating putrid fruit. He 
was given a magnif} ing glass, that he might see the real 
condition of the fruit, alive with worms. The native 
was disgusted at the sight, but instead of throwing 



TUy. SECRET OF GREATNESS. 



away the fruit he threw away the glass. How hke the 
man that looks into the word of God and sees his true 
condition. Instead of following his convictions, he re- 
jects God's word and cherishes his sins. Like the Afri- 
can above, there are many who would be great and still 
reject that which alone makes men truly great — the 
Law of the Lord. Man may for a time assume the role 
of greatness before men, but there are no staying quali- 
ties to such greatness. It quickly fades away in the sun- 
light of truth. 

In happy contrast with these aspiring ones are the 
lives of many who may be little and unknown, but who 
in practical life exhibit the spirit of the Book of books. 
Among these, and these alone, are found the truly great, 
God's noblemen on earth. 

During a plague in Marseilles the physicians de- 
cided that nothing could be done to save the people 
unless a victim could be dissected and the nature of the 
disease learned. But who would do this? Dr. Guyon 
rose and said he would do it. He wrote his will, bade 
his family farewell, entered the hospital, made the dissec- 
tion and examination, wrote out the results, and in a 
few hours was dead. But now the physicians could 
treat the disease and the plague w^as stayed. Was Dr. 
Guyon, actuated by so noble a motive, wanting in true 
greatness? 

True greatness lies not in wealth nor in social posi- 
tion, not in what men may say or think of us, but in great- 
ness of soul. The men great in the eyes of the world 
may be unknown to Him whose it is to judge and to 
reward true greatness. 

Lives of great men all remind us 

We can make onr lives sublime, 
And, departing. lea.ve behind us 

Footprints on the sands of time. 

—Longfellow. 

13 



194 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




CROMPTON INVENTING THE SPINNING JENNEY. 
Of whom the world was not worthy.— St. Paul. 
THE WORLD'S INGRATITUDE. 

The greatest benefactors of mankind have prose- 
cuted their work amid the frowns and intense opposition 
of the multitudes. It is only after they are dead that we 
begin to appreciate their work and then, to atone for 
neglect, or even opposition, we commemorate their life- 
work by great monuments. 

To Dr. Wm. T. G. Morton, who discovered the use 
of ether, causing insensibility to pain during surgical 
operations, and whose life was a heroic struggle against 
adverse circumstances, the world owes a debt of grati- 
tude. Although designing men attempted to claim the 
discovery and prevented the United States Government 
from rewarding this heroic, self-denying man, and al- 
though he died in sadness, because of the infringements 
upon his rights, yet his life was a success. 



THE WORLD'S INCnLVTlTl 1 )E, 



195 



Roger Bacon was sentenced to ten years' imprison- 
ment for making known his discoveries in science. 

Socrates, one of the wisest and noblest men of his 
time> after a long career of service in denouncing the 
wiongs of his age, and trying to improve the morals of 
his people, was condemned to death and obliged to drink 
jioison. 

Brimo, for his advocacy of the Copernican system, 
was seized by the Inquisition and burned alive at Rome 
in 1600, in the presence of an immense concourse. 

To these may be added the thousands who died a 
martyr's death, because of their persistent adherence to 
the Christian faith. 

Dr. Talmage said of Charles Sumner, "Now that he 
is dead the whole nation takes off the hat. The flags 
are at half-mast and the minute-guns on Boston Com- 
mon throb, now that his heart has ceased to beat. Was 
it always so? While he lived, how censured of legisla- 
tive resolutions, how caricatured of the periodicals, how 
charged with mean and ridiculous motives, how, when 
struck down in the Senate chamber, there were hundreds 
of thousands who said, 'Good for him, served him right!' 
O Commonwealth of Massachusetts! who is that man 
that sleeps to-night in your public hall, covered with 
garlands and wrapped in the stars and stripes? Is that 
the man wdiom only a few months ago you denounced 
as the foe of Republican and Democratic institutions? 
You took twenty-five years in trying to pull down his 
fame, and now ye a will take twenty-five years in trying 
to build his monument. You were either wrong then 
or you are wrong now. Was there ever better comment- 
ary on the hollowness of all earthly favor?" O, Ingrati- 
tude! what years of labor, what supreme efforts are spent 
in attempting to atone for thy base and relentless wrongs. 
Better to cease thine infamous work before thy victims 
lie beneath the sod. 



196 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




William Pitt, who became prime minister of England, at twenty-four. 
I write unto young men because ye are strong.— St. John. 
ACHIEVEMENTS OF EARLY MANHOOD. 

Gladstone says, ''There is in every young man the 
material for good work in the world; in everyone, not 
only those who are brilliant, not only those who are 
quick, but in those who are solid, and even those who are 
dull or seem to be dull." 

Dullness is not ahvays an evidence of lack of brains. 
When Isaac Barrow was a boy he appeared so stupid 
tliat his father said, if God took away any of his children 
he hoped it would be Isaac. Yet that boy lived to be 
one of the greatest divines of the Church of England. 
Napoleon's teacher said he would need a gimlet to put 
learning into the head of the future conqueror of Europe. 



ACHIEVEMENTS OF EARLY MANHOOD. 



197 



Sir Walter Scott, Dryclen, Swift, Goldsmith, Gibbon, 
Adam Clark and many others were notably dull boys. 
Note some of the achievements of young men: 
Xev>ton made some of his most important discov- 
eries before he was tvv'enty-five. 

William Wilberforce began his anti-slavery ef¥orts 
before he was sixteen, and was a member of Parliament 
at twenty. 

Franivlin wrote for publication when fourteen and 
edited and published a newspaper and "Poor Richard's 
Almanac" before he was twenty-six. 

Elias Howe invented the sewing machine before he 
was twenty-six. At about the same age Eli Whitney in- 
vented the cotton-gin and Dr. Thomas ]\Iorton discov- 
ered the use of ether as an anaesthetic to relieve pain 
during surgical operation. 

Charles Fox was in Parliament at nineteen. 

Cromwell left the University of Cambridge at 
eighteen. 

John Bright was never at any school a day after he 
was fifteen years old. 

Gladstone was in Parliament at twenty-two, and at 
twenty-four he was a lord of the treasury. 

Lord Bacon was graduated at Cambridge at six- 
teen, and was called to the bar at twenty-one. 

Peel was in Parliament at twenty-one. 

Henry Clay was in the Senate of the United States, 
contrary to the Constitution, at twenty-nine. 

Webster was in college at fifteen, gave evidence of 
his great future before he was twenty-five, and at thirty 
he was the peer of the ablest men in Congress. 

Keats and Shelley died before they were thirty. 

Samuel Colt invented the Colt revolver at twenty- 
one. 

Spurgeon was preaching at sixteen. 



198 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




• Your zeal hath provoked many.— St. Paul. 
POWER OF ENTHUSIASM. 

Enthusiasm! What has it not accompHshed? The 
record of the world's advancement in discovery and in- 
vention, of progress in science, art and literature, is a 
continuous rehearsal of the victory of enthusiasm over 
hardships, discouragements, opposition, poverty, preju- 
dice, slander, persecution and physical disabilities. En- 
thusiasm leaps over mountains of hindrances or tunnels 
its way through them, while cold indifference is declar- 
ing that it cannot be done. 

Joan of Arc, the simple ]\Iaid of Orleans, possessed 
with an enthusiasm that knows no defeat, with her sim- 
ple, yet consecrated, equipments, thrills with intense 
fervor an army that mighty rulers could not control. It 
was her intense earnestness that swept over France, in- 
spiring the multitudes with faith, courage and hopeful- 
ness, that fought the battles of a nation and that has made 



POWER OF EXTHrSIASM. 



199 



her a heroine down to the end of time. Gladstone, one 
cf the ablest and best of England's prime ministers, at 
nearly ninety years of age is an inspiration to manhood 
eyerywhere. His intense earnestness placed him at the 
iiead cf a mighty nation and gaye yiyacity and youthiiil 
yigor in old age. 

Enthusiasm giyes spirit, zeal and determination, 
cyen to old age. Hiniiboldt finished his "Cosmos" 
vdien ninety years old. Galileo wrote on the laws of 
motion at seyenty. and at seyenty-seyen sought to adapt 
the principle of the penduhmi to clocks. Robert Hall. 
wlien an old man, began the study of Italian. \\*elling- 
ton held to military work, eyen after eighty years of age. 
Xewton reyised his "Trincipia" when aboye eighty. 
Watt studied German at eighty-fiye and Thomas Scott 
studied Hebrew at eighty-seyen. Of Goldsmith it was 
said that he was a plant that flowered late in life. En- 
thusia^^m makes old hearts young and giyes to age a new 
lease of life. 

Joshua Reynolds was once asked to criticise a pic- 
ture. ''Capital composition, correct drawing, color, tone, 

lights, and shadows excellent." said he. ''but it wants — 
that!" snapping his fingers. 

Charles Kingsley says, "People smile at the enthusi- 
asm of youth, that enthusiasm which they themselyes 
secretly look back to with a sigh, perhaps unconscious 
that it is partly their own fault that they eyer lost it." 

It was the power of enthusiasm that, when in mid- 
life Sir Walter Scott found himself bankrupt with enor- 
mous liabilities, he set himself to write his way out and 
produced his masterpiece, "lyanhoe." while sick in bed. 
The same spirit came upon Carlyle when the manuscript 
of the '"French Reyolution." upon which he had labored 
so long a time, had been reduced to ashes by the mistake 
of a seryant girl. 



200 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Not by might, nor by power. — Zechariah. 
RESISTING TEMPTATION. 

In ancient m}-tholog}' we find two famous characters 
who sought to pass safely by the island of the Sirens 
somewhere near the west coast of Ital}". These en- 
chantresses were fabled to have the power of charming, 
bv their song, anyone who heard them, so that he died 
in an ecstasv of delig-ht. When the ships of Ulysses ap- 
proached these deadly charmers, sitting on the lovely 
beach endeavoring to lure him and his crew to destruc- 
tion, he filled the ears of his sailors with wax, and then 
had himself bound to the mast while he sailed within 
sound of the bewitching strain. By this painful process 
they escaped. 

On the other hand, when the Argonauts, in pursuit 
of the golden lieece. passed by the Sirens, singing with 
enchanting sweetness. Jason commanded Orpheus, who 
vras on board the ship, to strike his lyre. His song so 



RESISTING TEMPTATION. 



201 



surpassed in sweetness that of the charmers that their 
music seemed harsh discord. The Sirens had been con- 
quered with their own weapons. ]\Ielody had surpassed 
m.elody. 

There is an important lesson taught here, one that 
all men everywhere are inclined to forget. A\\' all must 
sail by the Sirens of temptation to evil. With some the 
exercise of a strong will power may give victory, but 
more frequently defeat comes to him who depends upon 
a strength inherent in himself. AMiile the painful process 
of tying oneself to the mast may at times set aside defeat 
yet, the desire for happiness being imbedded in our very 
nature, "the downward gravitation of our souls toward 
sinful pleasures can be overcome onh' by bringing 
heaven so near by faith as to cause a superior upward 
gravitation by what Dr. Chalmers styles the expulsive 
power of a new affection." Alas! how many lives that 
might have been great and noble have gone down, not 
having the strength so freely given of God, but trust only 
in their own power of will. On the other hand what 
noble manhood has resulted from taking on board the 
Orphean Ivre. 

In ihe days when a barrel of cider was deemed a 
necessity in the cellar of a farmer, one of them complained 
that he could not keep cider in his cellar on account of 
the bibulous propensities of one of the household. 
Franklin's remedy as a cure for evil was suggested. The 
farmer was told that his cider would remain untouched if 
he would place a barrel of wine beside it. From this let 
everyone prone toward the shallow, green-scummed pool 
of sensual gratification learn that there is a higher, a 
better, a safer rem.edy at hand — the transforming power 
of the Spirit, whereby there is a complete renovation of 
the desires and pleasures. The lyre of Orpheus is al- 
ways a better safeguard than the wax of Ulysses. Try 
it. 



202 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Destitute, afflicted, tormented.— Hebrews. 

WORSE THAN SLAVERY. 
Slavery is a positive curse. We freed at the price of 
blood the black slaves of the South, but all over this land 
of boasted liberties there are those who, on account of 
the avariciousness of wealthy men, as well as the gigan- 
tic evil intemperance, with its accompanying iniquities, 
the gambling den and the brothel, are living at a dying 
rate. The slave was provided with proper food and 
clothing, but these white slaves found in the sweatshops 
of our large cities or suffering on account of neglect of 
those whom passions and appetites control, are eking out 
an existence for which death itself would be a glad and 
welcome exchange. The anguish of one of these 
wretched lives is portrayed by Coates in the following 
lines: 

Dark is the night! — How dark! No light! No fire! 
Cold on the hearth the last faint sparks expire! 
Shivering, she watches, by the cold hearth side, 
For him who pledged her love — a happy bride! 



WORSE THAN SLAVERY. 



203 



"Hark! 'Tis his footstep! — 'Tis past! "Tis gone! 
Tick! — Tick! How wearily the time crawls on! 
Why should he leave me thus? He once was kind! 
And I believed 'twould last — how mad! — how blind! 

"Rest thee, my babe! — Rest on! — 'Tis hunger's cry! 

Sleep! — for there is no food! — The fount is dry! 

Famine and cold their wearying work have done — 

My heart must break! — and thou!" — The clock strikes one. 

"Hush! 'tis the dice box! Yes, he's there, he's there: 
For this! — for this, he leaves me to despair! 
Leaves love! leaves truth! his wife! his child! For what? 
The wanton's smile — the villain — and the sot! 

"Yet I'll not curse him! No! "tis all in vain! 

^Tis long to wait, but sure he'll come again! 

And I could starve and bless him, but for you, 

My child! — his child! — Oh, fiend!" The clock strikes two. 

"Hark! -How the sign-board creaks! The blast howls by! 
Moan! Moan! A dirge swells through the cloudy sky! 
Ha! 'tis his knock! he comes! — he comes once more! — 
'Tis but the lattice flaps!'' Thy hope is o'er! 
"Can he desert me thus? He knows I stay 
Night after night in loneliness, to pray 
For his return — and yet he sees no tear! 
No! No! It cannot be. He will be here. 

"Nestle more closely, dear ones to my heart! 

You're cold! You're freeezing! But we will not part! 

Husband! — I die! — Father! — It is not he! 

O God! protect the babes!" The clock strikes three. 

They're gone! They're gone! the glimmering spark hath sped! 

The wife and children numbered with the dead! 

On the cold hearth, outstretched in solemn rest, 

The babe lay frozen on its mother's breast! 

The gambler came at last — but all was o'er — 

Dead silence reigned around. — The clock struck four. 



204 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Our hope is lost .— Ezekiel. 

LOST AT HARBOR'S MOUTH. 

The above is a scene at the wharf of a fishing vil- 
lage. Some of the boats were out when the gale came 
up and went down in trying to make the harbor. Not 
a soul was saved. Sympathy is being expressed for the 
young wife whose husband was among the drowned fish- 
ermen. A gloom of sorrow has been cast over the whole 
place. This is not an unusual occurrence with fishing 
villages where danger and death constantly stare them 
in the face and calamity often overtakes them. 

There are many sad and heartrending scenes simi- 
lar to the above. There are many sad ruins of large and 
stately cities like Thebes and Nineveh of old. But of all 
these sad pictures there is nothing that approximates in 
sadness the ruins of a wasted life. There may be a long, 
eventful and useful life, but in making the harbor at 
its close the character that has stood beyond the noon 
and into life's evening may go down in sadness and 
despair. A Solomon's wisdom, excellence and virtue are 



LOST AT HARBOR\S MOUTH. 



205 



all lost in a sad ending. Nothing is sadder than to have 
the end discrown all the long character building of pre- 
ceding years. What the world remembers is not Ben- 
edict Arnold's heroic march through the wilderness of 
Maine to Canada, nor his matchless and unselfish brav- 
ery at Saratoga, but rather his treachery. There are 
dangers in life's last years as well as in its first years. 
The wreck of the steamer Oregon, with her smokestacks 
and masts sticking out of the water, just outside New 
York harbor, suggests that the voyage behind her 
counted for nothing when she ignobly missed her port. 

How unspeakably sad in Solomon's case that God's 
offer of long life, a perpetual line of kings from his own 
dynasty and prosperity for millions of people, should be 
rejected for a fleeting pleasure soon to be closed by death. 
And yet the lesson that Solomon's life teaches must be 
learned over and over again. The brightest dawning may 
end in storm. An old man may be untrue to the noble 
dreams of youth. Indulgence in worldly joys and sensu- 
ous delights may retard and finally arrest a race well be- 
gun. No length of service of God, no attainments in 
divine wisdom, place us at a height from which it is im- 
possible to fallo A good beginning is important, but a 
good ending is essential. 

A ship once came into port after having been out 
on the sea for a long time. The coal gave out; then 
everything in turn that would burn, cargo, stores, spars, 
furniture had to be burned to bring the vessel to the 
harbor. She anchored at last with nothing left worth 
anchoring. Many rich men come into the port of old 
age having, in their aim to accumulate wealth, burned up 
everything of manhood, character and hope — rich prob- 
ably in the world's eyes, but wretched wrecks in God's 
sight. 



206 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




At evening time it shall be light. — Zechariah. 
AT EVENTIDE. 



What more peaceful and restful scene than the close 
of a calm summer's day, as the sun just hidden below 
the horizon sends his tints of golden and crimson light 
across the sky, giving to all nature the spirit of tranquil- 
lity and (juietness! Fitting emblem of the eventide of 
life, when the cares and burdens of earlier days are laid 
aside and there is a quiet waiting for the time of release 
from this "tenement of clay." 

We glory in the achievements and attainments of 
early manhood, and yet, after we have exhausted our 
resources in praises for noble, aspiring youth, we are 
compelled to acknowledge that the end crowns the work 
and that there is nothing that exhibits such a spirit of 
sublimity and grandeur as the hoary head of one who 



AT EVENTIDE. 



207 



with unblemished, virtuous and Christhke character 
comes down to the evening of Hfe fuU of moral vigor, 
with mental and physical prowess well preserved by rea- 
son of an abstemious, well-ordered and well-regulated 
life. AMiile we honor the morning of life for its achieve- 
ments, we must still admit that mature manhood has 
acquired the chief distinction where the exercise of the 
highest order of mental ability is demanded. Socrates 
uttered his grandest sayings near the close of his Hfe 
of seventy years. Plato was a pupil imtil forty and did 
not begin teaching philosophy until he was more than 
fifty. Bacon wrote his "Xovum Organum" at sixty. 
Lord ^Mansfield has a world-wide fame as a jurist, but 
he acquired it after he was fifty. Humboldt began his 
'"Cosmos" at seventy-five. Haydn's "Creation" was 
written when he was seventy. Michael Angelo finished 
the "Last Judgment" at sixty-seven. Benjamin West 
pamted the celebrated picture, "Christ Healing the 
Sick." in his sixty-fifth year. The aged may 
not be so well fitted for the bustle and turmoil 
of active Hfe, but this is not a reason why they should 
retire from the responsibilities and cares connected with 
the guidance of the world's movements. The faculty of 
wisdom is a diviner gift than the faculty of energetic 
action. The oldest communities mold the character of 
the rest. The counsels of veteran statesmen and jurists 
are most operative in shaping our public institutions. 
The experience of the aged saint gives character and 
stability to the Christian world. The crowning virtue 
and glory of old age is an adornment of the Christian 
graces. Those who liv^e with life's great end in view 
never outlive their days. Their closing days suggest 
a going up into the mount of vision rather than a decline 
into the vale of death. Their end is peace. 



Not wealth but welfare i? success; 

Beneficence life's crown must bring, 
For nothing lives but righteousness, 
■ And character is everything. 

— Hezekiah Butterworth. 



208 



MARKED 
MANHOOD 
and 

WOMANHOOD 



209 



210 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




WILLIAM E. DODGE. 



For sixty-six years a professed Christian; for sixty- 
five years engaged in business pursuits; for fifty years a 
leader in commercial enterprises and religious and benev- 
olent undertakings ; giving freely of money, personal influ - 
ence and time to philanthropic work; seeking eagerly 
the highest good of his fellow-men and the glory of 
God — such is the record of William Earle Dodge, New 
York's most famous philanthropist, who died Feb. 9, 
1883, in his seventy-eighth year. Mr. Dodge was of 
Puritan stock. Born in Connecticut, and having a very 
limited school education, he was taken by his father to 
New York, where at the age of thirteen he began his 
business career as a boy-of-all-work in a wholesale dry 
goods house. At twenty-one he entered upon business 
for himself. For many years he managed the firm of 
Phelps, Dodge & Co., one of the most prosperous as 
well as largest houses in the country. 

Although deprived of an educational training, he 
became a well-informed man. He was an exceedingly 
public spirited man, taking an interest in every move- 



WILLIAM E. DODGE. 



211 



ment that might benefit mankind, always ready to give 
largely of his means. In one sense he was his own 
executor, for it was not unusual for him to give to char- 
itable, benevolent and religious work more than a hun- 
dred thousand dollars a year. 

The crowning glory of Air. Dodge's life was his 
sincere, simple, symmetric and fruitful Christian char- 
acter. He was the embodiment of the Scriptural idea of 
stewardship. Stewardship is a matter of principle, not 
of amount. To him much was given, and he was found 
faithful in much. He was a princely giver to many 
good enterprises. He was greatly interested in the tem- 
perance work, and was so consistent in his views on the 
wSabbath that he withdrew his interest, first from the 
Erie, then from the Xew Jersey Central Railroad, when 
those roads began to run Sunday trains. 

To his mother more than to anyone else was Mr, 
Dodge indebted for his early training in the ways of 
truth and in the forming of a character that prepared him 
for eminent excellence and usefulness in life. Her earnest 
and constant prayer for her children, together with a life 
consistent with her teachings and prayers, made her 
strong in shaping her noble son's life. 

2dr. Dodge will be known to coming generations 
not so much as the sagacious business man, the prince 
among merchants, but as the Christian philanthropist. 
He was always giving to the poverty-stricken, to needy 
young men preparing for the ministry, to church-build- 
ing, to the temperance cause, to missions. He gave not 
only money, hut personal energy and influence, to the 
day in which he exchanged these noble activities for the 
higher ones in heaven. 



212 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




PETER COOPER 

• The great object that I desire to accomplish by the erection of this in- 
stitution is to open the avenues of scientific Ivnowledge to the youth of our 
city and country, and so unfold the volume of nature that the young may 
see the beauties of creation, enjoy its blessings, and learn to love the Author 
from whom cometh every good and xierfect gift." 

This sentence was written on a scroll and placed in 
the corner-stone of Cooper Union. They indicate the 
purpose of the founder of that great institution. Peter 
Cooper was born in New York City, February 12, 1791. 
The family was poor. Peter was one O'f nine children, 
and, with his father changing his occupation every sev- 
eral years, there seemed to be anything but a bright pros- 
pect for } Oung Peter. His father moved from town to 
town, and always seemed to be in debt. When Peter 
was seventeen, with a mother's blessing, he started out 
for himself. He had saved ten dollars, and with it 
started for New York. There he was attracted by an 
advertisement of a lottery. He invested his money in 



PETER COOPER. 



213 



a ticket and lost it all. "It was the cheapest piece of 
knowledge I ever bought," said he years after. It ef- 
fectually cured him of any further desire for gambling. 
He scon found work as an apprentice. He was to remain 
four years and to receive his board and twenty-five dol- 
lars a year. ^loney that he earned for working overtime 
he spent for books and in securing the services of a 
teacher in the evenings. 

He soon started business for himself. At thirty- 
three he began the manufacture of glue, which by tireless 
energy and intense application became a very profitable 
business. 

"If I ever get rich I will build a place wliere the 
poor boys and girls of New York may have an education 
free." True to his purpose, in 1855 the foundation of 
Cooper Union was laid. The dream of his youth became 
the perfected plan in old age. He lived to be ninety- 
two, and for many years enjoyed the prosperity of an in- 
stitution to which he had given two million dollars. 

^Ir. Cooper was simple in his habits and especially 
free from ostentation. Aloney was his instrument, not 
his niaster. He made money to benefit, not to prey 
upon, the community. 

Just before his death he said, ''j\Iy sun is not setting 
in clouds and darkness, but is going down cheerfully 
in a clear firmament, lighted up by the glory of God. 
I seem to hear my mother calling me, as she used to 
when I was a boy: Teter, Peter, it is about bedtime.' " 
Noble life! Blessed end! Time will never efface the 
benign influence and benediction of Peter Cooper's 
life on succeeding generations. Better by far, and more 
enduring than a costly marble statue, is the grateful re- 
in embrance in which this true benefactor is held by the 
thousands who year by year are fitted for life's great 
work in the institution which his munificence provided. 



214 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




WILLIAM EWART GLADSTONE. 



England's "Grand Old Man" was born at Liver- 
pool December 29, 1809. At twenty-three he was elected 
to Parliament and for more than sixty years took an 
active interest in the affairs of the British Government. 
Three times he was Prime Minister and measures 
brought forward by him were always in the interests of 
peace and the strengthening of the government. He 
always was on the side of the people and reform, and 
against aristocracy. 

Aside from his devotion to politics, he has spent 
much time and written much upon Homer and upon 
different theological subjects. In March, 1894, then 
eighty-four years of age, he resigned as Prime Minister 
and after that, devoted most of his time to other subjects, 
although in any critical moment his vigorous pen was 
wielded in the interests of humanity, notably the Arme- 
nian massacres. He upbraided his government for slow- 
ness of action, and called for prompt measures to end 



WILLIAM EfWART GLADSTONE. 



215 



the atrocities. In 1896 Mr. Stead said, "Mr. Gladstone, 
although eighty-six years old, is far and away the most 
potent personality in Great Britain. He has retired from 
politics, but until death has closed that eager eye and 
stilled that eloquent tongue, nothing can diminish or 
impair his authority." 

His economy of time is seen in that he always car- 
ries a book in his pocket, lest spare moments escape while 
waiting for a train, or for men who are late in an appoint- 
ment. His enormous capacity for work and his remark- 
able preservation in old age he attributes to evenness 
of life, regularity of habits, absence of worry and the 
power to command sleep. Although in his eighty-ninth 
year he still takes an interest in many things and finds 
recreation in turning from one to another. "In all my 
political life," says he, "I have never been kept awake 
five minutes by any debate in Parliament." This rare 
ability to turn the hours for repose into real recupera- 
tion has much to do with his long and useful life. 

The first element in the secret of his continued vigor 
is the simplicity and fervency of his religious faith. A 
text over the mantelpiece in his bedroom explains the 
tranquillity that has saved him from the nervous exhaus- 
tion that has carried ofT many other men. The text 
is, 'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is 
stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee." 

Mr. Gladstone's kind and sympathetic spirit is shown 
in the treatment given to a poor crossing-sweeper, for 
whom he always had a kind word when passing. One 
day he was missing. Mr. Gladstone inquiring of his 
mate learned that he was ill. This Prime Minister, al- 
though the af¥airs of the greatest kingdom in the world 
pressed heavily upon him, with genuine simplicity of char- 
acter, found the address of this crossing-sweeper, visited 
him, read the Bible to him and prayed. 



216 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




LOUIS KOSSUTH. 



The Hungarian patriot and leader of the Hungarian 
revolution was born in 1802, Although of noble rank, 
his parents were poor. Early in life he became distin- 
guished while editor of a paper in which he advocated 
views too liberal for the government, but which took 
strong hold of the people, and especially of the vouth 
of his country. He was imprisoned; but upon being 
released he took up the cause of the people, the emanci- 
pation of the peasants, the elevation of the citizen class 
and the freedom of the press. After the French revolu- 
tion in 1848 he demanded an independent government. 
Although he accomplished much in this direction, the 
opposition as well as dissensions among his associates at 
last compelled him to abandon his work and to flee as 
an exile into Turkey. His extradition was demanded by 
Austria and Russia, but these demands were refused by 
the Porte. Through the intervention of the United States 
and England he was liberated, and not being permitted 



LOUIS KOSSUTH. 



217 



to pass through France, sailed for England, where he v/as 
received everywhere with popular favor. 

By act of Congress he was invited to the United 
States as a guest. He arrived Dec. 6, 1851, and received 
a more magnificent reception than, had ever been ten- 
dered to a foreigner. It is said that a multitude of at 
least fifty thoiisand awaited his arrival in New 
York City. From neighboring towns and villages, 
the multitudes kept pouring in, until more than a hun- 
dred thousand, wild and almost frantic with enthusiasm, 
greeted the honored guest. He remained in the United 
States for some time, visiting the principal cities, and 
everywhere vv^as most cordially received. He addressed 
meetings of Germans, French, Italians, Hungarians and 
Americans in their native tongue, showing a remarka- 
ble linguistic gift. While he was cheered by the people 
for his grand exploits and his persuasive oratory, he 
failed in the main object of his visit to this country — to 
procure the intervention of the nation in the af¥airs of 
his native country. 

Upon his return to Europe he modestly retired. Un- 
willing to accept citizenship in Hungary, now subject 
to Austria, or to receive the contributions of his admir- 
ers, he spent the remainder of his days in procuring a 
subsistence by his own labors. He preferred retirement 
with honor and self-respect to a fictitious glory. Although 
once dictator of his country and now universally honored, 
he taught languages, wrote for magazines and prepared 
books, living and dying in poverty. 

When promised protection in Turkey this exiled 
patriot replied, ''Between death and shame I have never 
been dubious. Though once the governor of a generous 
people, I leave no inheritance to my children except that 
of an unsullied name. God's will be done. I am pre- 
pared to die. These hands of mine are empty but clean." 



218 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




into the infection of hospitals; to visit the forsaken, and 
to compare the distresses of all men in all countries. His 
was a voyage of discovery, a circumnavigation of charity." 

This noted philanthropist and prison reformer lived 
a quiet and retired life in England, scarcely known beyond 



JOHN HOWARD. 



219 



the circle of friends who had become greatly attached 
to him by his generous spirit in aiding the poorer classes, 
in providing better homes for them. His parents died 
before he was twenty, leaving him abundant means of 
support, but delicate health suggested a trip to the Con- 
tinent in his twentieth year, in which he was taken pris- 
oner by the PVench, and, in dungeons not fit for human 
beings, endured untold sufiferings with most cruel and 
barbarbic treatment. This, however, fitted him more fully 
for his great work in later years. 

When Howard was forty-six years old he was elected 
high sherifY for his county. His election opened up a 
new avenue in which his philanthropic and fellow-feeling 
spirit found delight to labor. Beginning in his own 
country, he visited the prisons, and rested not until the in- 
humanities and barbarities in prison management and 
treatment were brought to light and prison reform in- 
stituted. Having completed his work in the prisons 
of Great Britain, he turned his attention to France, Hol- 
land and Germany, visiting the prisons of each in turn, 
and doing what he could to correct abuses. His first 
volume, giving account of his visits and his work, was 
spread widely, and awakened iinusual interest in his work. 
He continued in this chosen work during the remainder 
of his life and published a number of volumes. Every- 
where he found abuses and grievances, often shocking 
and disgraceful to a civilized country. He was often 
subjected to great hardships and dangers, but this did 
not in the least prevent his continuing to labor for unfort- 
unate prisoners. He died at Cherson, Russia, January, 
1890, where he had caught a malignant fever while vis- 
iting a Russian hospital. He died a martyr, after living 
an apostle. Greatness among men is not always great- 
ness before God. The name of a truly great man is a 
living force after he is dead. John Howard was greater 
before God than a Napoleon. 



220 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




GEORGE PEABODY. 

"Bear in mind, that, to be truly great, it is not nec- 
essary that you should gain wealth and importance. 
Steadfast and undeviating truth, fearless and straightfor- 
ward integrity and an honor ever unsullied by an un- 
worthy word or action, make their possessor greater than 
worldly success or prosperity. These qualities constitute 
greatness." These were the noble sentiments uttered by 
the founder of Peabody Institute at the dedication, upon 
his return to America after an absence of twenty years. 
George Peabody was born in Massachusetts, 1795, of 
poor parents who, although hard-working and respected, 
could give to their children no further legacy than that 
of an ordinary district school education, an untarnished 
name and a determination to make the most of life. At 
the early age of eleven he was compelled to leave school 
and was thrown upon his own resources. Serving sue- 



GEORGE PEABODY. 



221 



cessively as errand-boy and clerk in a grocery store and 
later in a dry-goods establishment, his close attention to 
business, his manly bearing and his pleasing disposition 
won for him a host of friends, and before he was twenty 
he was a partner of a firm, dealing in dry-goods. His one 
purpose — attention to business — gained for him remark- 
able success so that at forty he stood at the head of a large 
and w^ealtliy establishment. In 1843 he severed his busi- 
ness relations with the firm and established himself as a 
banker in London and accumulated a large fortune. 

Mr. Peabody is remembered not by the great for- 
tune that he succeeded in amassing, for many others have 
like him accumulated millions but have long since been 
forgotten to the world. His memory is revered because 
of the use he made of his money. He did not simply 
provide for its good use in a will to be executed, by others 
at his death, but, with sound sense and judgment, he 
placed the money in his lifetime where he believed it 
would do the greatest good. His own statements show 
that nothing in life gave him so much pleasure as to see 
that his large benevolences were a blessing to humanity. 
He gave about ten millions for the benefit of the poor and 
unfortunate and for educational purposes. Two and a 
half millions were spent in improving the condition of 
London's poverty-stricken and laboring classes; three and 
a half millions were set apart as a fund for the education 
of the negro of the South. He founded a number of 
schools, notably Peabody Institute, and endowed libra- 
ries. 

Remarkable career! you say, and yet this great man 
himself said, 'There are many whose early opportunities 
and advantages are greater than were my own. I have 
achieved nothing that is impossible to the most humble 
boy." 



222 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 





AMES WATT, one of the world's most 
illustrious mechanics, was born' at 
Greenock, Scotland, January 19, 1736- 
His delicate health prevented his tak- 

, ^_ ing a complete course in a university. 

At the age of eighteen he was apprenticed to a London 
maker of mathematical instruments, but ill-health soon 
compelled him to return to his home. In 1757 he 
was appointed mathematical instrument maker to the 
college at Glasgow. Here he labored for some 



JAMES WATT. 



223 



years under difficulties, eking out an income by 
making or mending fiddles. His great love for knowl- 
edge and his interest in mechanical novelties, with 
the advantages that the college afforded, m;ade him 
a diligent student of science and an experimenter in the 
application of science to the arts. During the winter of 
1763-64 a working model of the Newcomen engine, kept 
for the use of the natural philosophy class in the college, 
was sent to him to be put in repair. Watt quickly found 
out what was wrong with the model and easily put it into 
order. With the view of remedying its defects, he com- 
menced an extensive series of experiments, and was soon 
rewarded with valuable discoveries. He found out that 
in the model before him about four-fifths of the steam, 
and consequently of the fuel, was wasted. The genius of 
this inventor, overcoming many serious obstacles, pro- 
duced a steam engine of practical benefit to the human 
race. It came into his hands a toy ; it left them a mighty 
instrument of beneficent progress. 

Comparing his invention with the atmospheric en- 
gine of New^comen, it must be admitted that it is not with- 
out justice that the popular voice has awarded to James 
Watt the name of inventor of the steam engine. 

Watt did not escape the usual experience of invent- 
ors, playfully described by Wilkins Micawber as "the 
pressure of pecuniary liabilities." His means were Hm- 
ited and in order to prosecute his experiments he had to 
obtain the assistance of friends. For five years he aban- 
doned the prosecution of his various plans and sought a 
living by pursuing the profession of civil engineer. AH 
sorts of attempts were also made to snatch the laurels 
from Watt's brow, but fortunately these were of no avail. 
He triumphed over opposition, and in 1800 withdrew 
from business, enjoying nineteen years of domestic felic- 
ity in the bosom of his family. 



224 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




DR. MARCUS WHITMAN. 

In 1832 four Indians made their way from Oregon 
to St. Louis for the purpose of obtaining the "white man's 
Book of Life." 

Responding to this call, Dr. Whitman established a 
mission among the Cayuse Indians at Walla Walla. 

In a few years over 300 Indian families were under 
the influence of the mission. They were living in houses 
and had learned that their livelihood was better secured 
to them by farming than by hunting and fishing. But 
educated Indians could not be deceived in bartering furs 
as the savages could. Consequently Dr. Whitman's ef- 
forts were opposed by the agents of the Hudson Bay 
Company. 

In October, 1842, while Dr. Whitman was attending 
a sick Indian at the Fort in Walla Walla, a messenger 
arrived there, announcing that 140 Englishmen and 
Canadians were on their way to settle Oregon. 

There was great rejoicing among the traders over 
this move to claim Oregon for Great Britain and thus 
drive out the Yankee missionaries who were disturbing 
their profitable trade with the Indians. Dr. Whitman 
was told that already negotiations had been begun with 



DR. MARCUS WHITMAN. 



225 



the American Government by which Oregon would be 
given to Great Britain. He hastened home to tell his 
Vvdfe that he must go to Washington to save Oregon to 
the United States. In twenty-four hours he, with one 
companion, had started on one of the most perilous rides 
known to history. 

The earth was their bed at night. Dried grass was 
the only feed for the horses. 

Over snow-capped mountains, through the lava beds 
of Idaho, swimming ice-cold rivers, encountering savage 
beasts and still more savage men, lost in snowstorms, 
cold, hungry and in peril of life and limb — on, on they 
pushed through the dead of wdnter, until in March, five 
months after leaving. Dr. Whitman stood before President 
Tyler, pleading for Oregon. Daniel Webster, Secretary of 
State, considered Oregon too far away to be of any use 
to the United States. But President Tyler positively 
promised that American interests there would not be bar- 
tered away until Dr. Whitman had time to make settle- 
ments and thereby claim ownership. 

During that summer Dr. Whitman returned across 
the mountains with over eight hundred immigrants. 
They built comfortable houses and took possession for 
the United States. 

Dr. Whitman continued his work among the In- 
dians. Their language was reduced to writing and their 
children were gathered into schoolhouses and taught to 
read and write. Women and girls were taught to spin 
and cook. A code of laws was adopted acknowledging 
the authority of the United States. This was ratified by 
treaty in 1846. Incensed by this act the traders poisoned 
the minds of the Indians, and on November 27, 1847, 
Whitman, his heroic wife and thirteen others were mas- 
sacred by the people they had come to civilize. Whit- 
man College at Walla Walla bears tribute to his mem- 
ory. 

15 



226 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




CHARLES SUMNER. 

Charles Sumner first became known to the world in 
1845, when he was called upon to deliver the Fourth of 
Jul^ oration in his native city of Boston. His fearless 
exposition of the nobler sentiments that should control 
nations gained for him a hearing in two continents. He 
entered public life when it seemed that the whole nation 
had grown into a state of moral apathy. The fervor of 
revolutionary freedom had died out, and in the haste for 
riches, open to a new country, the legal code was adopted 
as the morals of the people. 

The rights of man to rnan were disregarded. Noth- 
ing was morally wrong that was legally right. It needed 
the voice of Sumner to point the nation to its true grand- 
eur; that it must be established by deeds of justice and 
beneficence. Sumner performed this duty nobly. To a 
man of his attainments this course was social ostracism. 
As he applied the principles of Christianity to the every- 



CHARLES SUMNER. 



227 



day affairs of men and of nations, liis friends were 
amazed. His zeal for the Golden Rule in politics severed 
many of his former associates, to whom he became known 
as the Christian layman of New England. 

In his chosen profession he never attained distinc- 
tion. He was not a great lawyer. His ability lay in his 
skill to apply the science of law to the rule of right. In 
after years when he represented the reform forces in the 
United States Senate his bitter opponents, who had ridi- 
culed him as the "briefless barrister," were fo-rced to ad- 
mit that while they were building for 'themselves a wide 
reputation, with clients and fees seeking their patronage, 
he was studying national and international law. In the 
last branch he seldom met his equal. This acquaintance 
with legal opinions became his greatest weapon when 
assailed by the united slave power in the Senate. He 
cited authority for every proposition he made. Unable 
to silence him with argument, the baser passions of his 
enemies were aroused. In 1856 he made his celebrated 
speech, "The Crime Against Kansas." Shortly after 
Preston Brooks, member of Congress from South Caro- 
lina, entered the Senate chamber and approaching Mr. 
Sumner while he was leaning forward at his desk in writ- 
ing, he struck Mr. Sumner over the head with a cane until 
he lay senseless on the floor. Four years passed before 
Sumner recovered sufflciently to take his place in the 
Senate. Until his death he strove to gain equality of 
rights for all. He loved humanity. He hated war. He 
probably w-as the first to attempt to practice the law be- 
tween nations that holds between individuals. 

His last important act was to press his civil rights 
bill, which placed the negro on a perfect equality with 
the whites so far as the law was concerned. Sumner 
was a great man. His influence is still felt by the Amer- 
ican people. 



228 



TKAITS OF CHARACTER. 




WENDELL PHILLIPS. 

Graduated from Harvard in 1831, he began the study 
of law. Surrounded by refinement and culture, and liv- 
ing in a time when the slavery question gave occasion 
for oratorical display which continually sounded in his 
ears, he could scarcely avoid indulging in visions of dis- 
tinction and renown that were awaiting him. 

Meanwhile ideas were being formed in his mind. 
He heard the public denounce Garrison for proclaiming 
the first principle of the Declaration of Independence. 
He saw that free speech was threatened and that all men 
were equal only in name. Then came the struggle. He 
must choose a life of ease and enjoyment or one of un- 
popularity and apparent defeat. He must be a leader 
in culture and refinement or the champion of degraded 
humanity. Born near the "cradle of liberty," he was 
born again on that memorable day when he saw the 
''Broadcloth mob" drag Garrison through the streets 



WENDELL PHILLIPS. 



229 



which were dedicated by his Puritan fathers to the cause 
of freedom — reborn an aboHtionist, with a Hfe work as 
broad as hberty and including all humanity. The great 
question that had taken hold of his soul spoke through 
his lips. "I love inexpressibly these streets of Boston, 
over which my mother led my baby feet, and if God grants 
me time enougJi I will make them too pure for the foot- 
steps of a slave." 

His first public speech was made in Faneuil Hall, 
denouncing the murder of Lovejoy, and from that time 
he was the leader of the anti-slavery cause. 

His power as an orator was such that his most in- 
tense enemies could not stay away when he was to speak. 
Drawn to him, though hating him, he held them spell- 
bound through many addresses, only to have them wreak 
their hatred thereafter by mobbing and stoning him. He 
advocated liberty preferable to slave Union; disunion to 
bloodshed. But when the first gun was heard at Fort 
Sumter, he welcomed war as a means to a new Union 
of freedom and equal rights. Other statesmen and ora- 
tors have championed great reforms, but they only spoke 
the views of an organized party. Phillips stood distinct- 
ively alone. Without a party, he was denounced by the 
press and hated by the ''upper class." But he stood un- 
daunted. He gave his life for the uplifting of degraded 
and oppressed humanity. When the slave was freed he 
became the advocate of other great reforms. His life task 
was to form public opinion upon vital questions of the 
day by fearless and honest discussion. He felt for the 
laboring man. He appealed to the nation in justice and 
reason for the enfranchisement of the wives and mothers 
of America. He espoused the cause of prohibition and 
prison reform. As a man of letters he achieved fame. 
His life was an unselfish devotion to the cause of others, 
and an inflexible fidelity to the great principles of our 
American Republic — freedom and liberty. 



230 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




" The most valuable gift of a man or woman to this world is not money, 
nor books, but a noble life/' 

JOHN GREENLEAF WHITTIER. 

While more than forty vohimes of Whittier's works 
have been pubHshed and widely circulated, and while 
his poems, largely inspired by current events, and their 
patriotic, democratic, and humane spirit, have taken a 
strong hold on the public, breathing, as they do, more 
peculiarly the American spirit than those of an}^ other 
of equal fam,e; yet over and above this, that which has so 
peculiarly and so tenderly endeared him, not only to the 
^American people, but to those of other lands as well, is 
his noble, well-rounded, beautiful life. 

Whittier was born at Haverhill, Mass., Dec. 17, 
1807. His early life was spent on a farm and his father's 
early death caused him to return to the farm and labor 
for the support of his mother and sisters. At twenty- 
eight he was elected a member of the Massachusetts 
Legislature. He early identified himself with the Anti- 



JOHN GREEINLEAF WHITTIER. 



231 



slavery movement and in 1836 was appointed secretary 
of the American Anti-slavery Society, and removed to 
Philadelphia, where in 1839, in editing the "Pennsyl- 
vania Freeman," his ofhce was sacked and burned by a 
mob. From this time he was one of the most prominent 
anti-slavery men in the countr}', and his writings, both 
prose and poetry, were largely in support of that cause. 

Whittier once said that he was more proud that his 
name should appear signed to the Declaration of Princi- 
ples adopted by an Anti-slavery society, than on the title 
page of any of his volumes. In strange contrast is the 
following, which appeared about the same time in a 
Columbia, S. C, paper: "Let us declare that the question 
of slavery is not and shall not be open to discussion — 
that the very moment any private individual attempts to 
lecture us upon its evils and immorality, in the same 
moment his tongue shall be cut out and cast upon the 
dunghill." 

Sympathy for the oppressed is far more conspicuous 
in his writings than indignation against the oppressor. 
Being a Friend or Quaker, his love for peace is con- 
spicuous — and yet, intense patriotism -sometimes kindles 
his writings into almost martial ardor. Whittier's 
writings are remarkable for their sweet, loving tone, and 
his life was beautiful with the happiness of noble aims 
fulfilled — a life that has always hinged on that brief law 
"Dare to be true.'' Toward the close of his life his books 
furnished him a comfortable income. 

Whittier's beautiful life, his friendly and generous 
spirit, so clearly shown in all his writings, made him 
"sweetly familiar" to all the world. On a beautiful 
morning in 1892, he said, "]\Iy — love — to — the — world," 
and passed 

To find at last beneath thy trees of healing 
The life for which I long\ ' ' 



232 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




LOVEJOY MONCTMENT, ALTON, ILL. 



ELIJAH PARRISH LOVEJOY. 
E. P. Lovejoy ^Yas one of the heroes as well as a 
martyr of the Abolition cause. Fearing only God, per- 
sectttion made no impression upon him. He was born 
in Albion. ]\Iaine, in 1802. His father was a Presby- 
terian clergyman. \\'hen about twenty-five years of age 
Lovejoy moved to St. Louis, ]\Io., where he established 
a school, and in 1833 a religious paper called the '"Ob- 
server". In his paper he was outspoken in denunciation 
of human slavery. He was frequently threatened with mob 
violence and, in July, 1836, decided to remove to Alton, 
LI. \Mthin a year his ofhce was destroyed three times 
by mobs, and in reply to continued threats of violence, 
he said: "L' the civil authorities refuse to protect me 
I must look to God. and if I die I am determined to make 
my grave in Alton. But, gentlemen, as long as I am an 



ELIJAH PARRISH LOVEJOY. 



233 



American citizen, and as long as American blood runs in 
my veins, I shall hold myself at liberty to speak, write 
and publish whatever I please upon any subject, being 
amenable to the laws cf my country for the same." 

^lone}' for a fourth press was raised by friends of 
free speech in Ohio. The press was received at Alton 
about midn'ght of Xov. 6, 1837, and stored in the ware- 
house of the leading firm in the city. A'olunteers 
guarded it, but a drunken mob made an attack and 
attempted to fire the building. In attempting to pre- 
vent this effort of the mob, Lovejoy was shot and died in 
a few minutes. The event caused great excitement 
throughout the country, some defending, others excusing 
and many more denouncing ]\Ir. Lovejoy. While many 
held that he was entitled to the honors of a martyr to 
the freedom cf speech and of the press, there were men 
high in influence and public station, who did not hesitate 
to declare that he had "died as the fool dieth." 

In this case, as in many others, truth seemed to be 
crushed to earth for a season, but time fully justified him. 
The grave of Air. Lovejoy on a bluff overlooking the 
3^Iississippi was unmarked for many years, but a monu- 
ment ninety feet high, surmounted by a bronze statue of 
\ ictory, now stands above it, reminding those who visit 
it of the sacrifices which it has cost to maintain in this re- 
public the freedom of the press. This monument, a 
magnificent piece of work, built of light granite, costing 
830,000, was dedicated Xov. 8, 1897. with imposing 
ceremonies. Thus was honored the man who, while 
living, was not permitted to express his sentiments w^ith- 
out endangering and at last giving his life in doing so. 
Lovejoy's name will deser^'edly live long in American 
history with that of Garrison, Phillips and other aboli- 
tionists. 



234 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 

'*Willam Lloyd Garrison was put into this cell on 
Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 12, 1835, to save him from 
the violence of a respectable and influential mob who 
sought to destroy him foT preaching" the abominable and 
dangerous doctrine that 'all men are created equal/ and 
that all oppression is odious in the sight of God.,, 

The above words were written on the walls oi his 
cell, where Garrison was confined, who, while attending 
an anti-slavery society meeting, was taken by an in- 
furiated mob and, with a rope around his body, was 
dragged through the streets of Boston, and would no 
doubt have been killed, but for the intervention of the 
Mayor, who with great difficulty rescued him from the 
rage of the mob and lodged him iil jail. Garrison's only 
crime was that of being editor of the "Liberator," a 
paper devoted to the anti-slavery cause. 



WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. 



235 



Garrison was born m 1805 at Newburg, Mass. His 
father was a man of literary taste and ability but, falling 
into dissolute habits, deserted his wife, who, for the 
support of the family, had to act as professional nurse. 
Young Garrison, poor and not having a chance at school, 
was very early in life thrown upon his own resources. 
He, however, had a rich legacy in his mother's prayers, 
her blessing and her letters. Until her death these letters 
were an inspiration to him in his work. He engaged 
early in the printing business and at sixteen contributed 
anonymous articles for the ''Newd^uryport Herald" that 
were very favorably received by the public. 

At twenty-one he became proprietor and editor of 
the "Free Press," in which he was accustomed to set up 
his own editorials in type, without writing them out. The 
vigorous expression of his anti-slavery views in the 
''Genius of Universal Emancipation," of Baltimore, of 
which he was editor for a time, led to his imprisonment 
for libel. He was released by Mr. Tappan, a New York 
merchant, who paid his fine. In 183 1 he returned to Bos- 
ton and started the "'Liberator," which he carried on for 
thirty-five years, until slavery was abohshed. In this 
same year the Georgia legislature offered $5,000 for the 
arrest, prosecution and conviction of Garrison. He was 
often threatened with assassination, but in spite of all he 
successfully persevered. He visited England four times 
in the interest of the anti-slavery cause, and was each time 
enthusiastically received by many prominent men. Upon 
his return the last time his friends presented him with 
$30,000. He died in New York in 1879. "His name is 
venerated w^herever Christianity softens the hearts and 
lessens the sorrows of men." 

Garrison's motto, on taking charge of the "Liber- 
ator," will live with generations yet unborn — "I will be 
as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice. I 
am in earnest. I will not equivocate; I will not excuse; 
I will not retreat a single inch — and I will be heard." 



236 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. 

It is usually the case that great leaders, especially 
in reform work, spring from the class that has pushed its 
way through privation and poverty to distinction and 
eminence. In this respect William Wilberforce is a 
notable exception. The only child of a wealthy mer- 
chant, who died when William w^as nine years old, the 
idol of his mother, who was more than willing to lavish 
upon her child all the money he asked for, this youth, 
naturally bright and witty, entered upon a life of ease and 
pleasure, the gayest of the gay. 

Wilberforce left college at twenty-one, in 1780, and 
was at once elected to Parliament from Hull, his native 
town, his election costing him about $40,000. He en- 
tered at once into the gayeties and fascinations of London 
life. He came very near becoming a hopeless victim of 



WILLIAM WILBERFORCE. 



237 



the gambling table. Alore than once his diary reports 
a loss of -£ioo at the faro table. He was saved only by 
being brought under the influences of those higher prin- 
ciples which subsequently controlled his life. Through 
his friend and companion, Isaac Alilner, he was induced 
to read Doddridge's "Rise and Progress of Religion," 
also the Greek Testament. This changed his whole 
course in life. From this time forth he was an example 
of Christian manhood. In the same year he organized 
an association for the discouragement of vice, and in the 
following year, 1788, began his great life-work for the 
abolition of the slave trade. 

Wherever the name of William Wilberforce, one of 
the most brilliant and gifted men of the times in which he 
lived, wherever his name is known, there is associated 
with it the idea of the emxancipation of the slave. He met 
with powerful opposition and was more than once re- 
pulsed by Parliament. But his determined spirit and 
the justice of his cause won for him the admiration of all, 
and in 1806, Parliament, by an enthusiastic majority, 
passed a bill for the total abolition of the slave trade. Pie 
at once, aided by many outside of Parliament, entered 
upon a cam_paign for the total abolition of slavery itself. 
Declining health compelled him to retire from Parlia- 
ment in 1825, but his successor, T. Powell Buxton, took 
up his work, and in 1833, three days before his death, 
Wilberforce received the glad news that the bill for the 
total abolition of slavery had passed. Thus, almost at 
the hour of death, was this great man permitted to see the 
triumph of the truth for which he had given many years 
of his life. Wilberforce distinguished himself in Parlia- 
ment by his eloquence. He is the author of "Practical 
View of Christianity," which met great favor, and 
success. His life, spent for the benefiting and uplift- 
ing of humanity, is held in precious memory. 



238 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




FREDERICK DOUGLASS. 
The most remarkable man of negro blood yet pro- 
duced in the United States is, without doubt, Frederick 
Douglass. Born in slavery in ]\Iaryland, he managed 
secretly to learn to read, and finally succeeded in running 
away and reaching New Bedford, Mass. Here at first 
he found use for his trade of ship carpentry, and later, 
after study, and some practice as a speaker, he became a 
preacher. His ability as an orator brought him to the 
notice of such men as Garrison, and he made many ad- 
dresses in the anti-slavery cause. His prominence 
caused him to be pursued, and he went to England, where 
he made remarkable addresses. He became editor of a 
paper in Rochester, N. Y., that championed the cause 
of freedom. This occupation was interrupted by another 
visit to England, because he was endangered by his 
knowledge of the plans of John Brown, although he did 
not himself approve of Brown's scheme. Returning 



FREDERICK DOUGLASS. 



239 



to America, he resumed his place on the paper. When 
the war broke out, he had much influence in causing the 
enhstment of colored troops, and his own sons entered 
the army. After the war he was connected with the 
Freedmen's Bank, and after its failure he was greatly and 
unjustly attacked. President Lincoln felt for him the 
highest regard; under President Grant he was com- 
missioner to San Domingo, under Hayes and Arthur he 
held offices in the District of Columbia, and under Har- 
rison he was minister to Hayti. He has generally been 
regarded as the leading representative and counselor of 
his race; and his intellectual ability, his eloquence, his 
wisdom as a counselor, the influence he had in 
awakening the country, the manner in which he filled the 
offices to which he was appointed, and -his character, 
gave his people cause to be proud of him. 

From a speech at a Fourth of July celebration in 
Rochester, before the emancipation, we extract a few 
sentences, which, taking into account the state of the pub- 
lic mind at the time, show the courage of the man : "Why 
should I celebrate your Fourth of July? What freedom 
have I and my people to celebrate? Above your shouts 
and the roar of your cannon I can hear the crack of the 
slave whip, the clanking of the chains and the groans of 
my oppressed brethren in the South. You were willing 
to bare your breasts to cannon to evade a tax on tea, but 
you turn a. deaf ear to three millions of human beings, 
made in the image of God, who are vainly pleading to 
you in chains that they may own their own bodies. Every 
stripe upon your flag represents the blood and bondage 
of my people and every star glitters to your country's 
shame. You have coiled up in the youthful bosom of 
your republic the serpent of slavery, sucking her life's 
blood, and sending its poison into every member of its 
body." 



240 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER, 




REV. S. F. SMITH. 
The author of our national hymn, "America," was 
somewhat aimlessly turning over the leaves of a German 
music book one dismijal day in February, 1832, when his 
eye fell upon the music known as "God Save the King." 
The music pleased and he was at once inspired to write a 
patriotic hymn of his ow^n in the same meter. The re- 
sult is best told in the author's words: "Seizing a bit 
of paper, I at once began to write, and in half an hour the 
hymn stood as it stands to-day. It was not my purpose to 
write a national hymn. Soon afterward I gave a copy to 
Mr. Mason, and to my surprise I found that he used it at 
a children's celebration in Park Street Church, Boston, 
where it was first publicly sung." It soon became national. 
On the following page w^e give ^a facsimile of an 
original manuscript. 



242 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




JOHN BUNYAN, 



John Bunyan was born at Elstow in 1628. Accord- 
ing to his own account, he was descended ''of that rank 
that is the meanest and most despised of all the families 
in the land." In youth he had been taught to read and 
write, but he confesses 'Vith shame that he did soon 
lose that little he learned." He followed his father's trade 
and became a wandering tinker. He was idle and 
vicious and was an adept and a teacher in evil. At sev- 
enteen, he entered the army, 'Svhere wickedness 
abounded." At twenty he married a pious woman, 
though as poor as himself, not having a dish or a spoon 
between them. 

Her only portion which she brought to him con- 
sisted of two books — "The Plain Man's Pathway to 
Heaven," and "The Practice of Piety," left her by her 
father when he died. 



JOHN BUNYAN. 



243 



The reading of these books aloud with his wife, and 
her example awakened in him a desire to reform his 
wicked life. For two years he struggled through hope 
and despair. He felt the power of ApoUyon and the 
strong defenses of Doubting Castle between glimpses of 
sunshine penetrating his soul. He joined the Baptist 
Church, and. having become a Dissenter, was shut up in 
Bedford jail for twelve years, with no other amusements 
but the "Book of Martyrs" and the Bible. During the 
day he tagged laces and made wire snares to support him- 
self and family. At nightfall the evening prayers were 
said and the blind child, who spent the day w^ith him, 
received the fatherly blessing. The last good-night was 
said to his dear ones. A candle dimly lighted the cell, 
but there was fire in his eye and all the involuntary im- 
ages that once haunted his troubled soul were made to 
act and speak through his pen as living agents. 

After twelve years of undeserved sufferings in prison 
he was liberated and became a great preacher, pastor and 
peacemaker. He met his death from exposure on a 
journey to reconcile an estranged father and son. 

But his great work in life was the writing of "Pil- 
grim's Progress." Not only in the English language, 
but in m^any languages, even in Chinese, the most popu- 
lar book in Christian literature next to the Bible is "Pil- 
grim's Progress." 

Books may be divided into two classes, making the 
literature of knowledge and the literature of power. 
Knowledge informs, but power moves. "Pilgrim's Pro- 
gress" distinctively belongs to the latter class. Bunyan, 
though uneducated, not being able to spell correctly, yet 
by his simple and Christlike spirit has been able to 
move the world. His books will never die. The writ- 
ings of no other author are so widely read. 



244 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




MARTIN LUTHER. 



On the tenth of November, 1483, in a miner's hut, in 
the Httle village of Eisleben, Germany, the Apostle of 
Reformation was born, which event proved to be an 
epoch in history. His parents were industrious, worthy 
but poor. At a great sacrifice they kept him in school. 
His mother, a devoted and pious woman, spared no pains 
to give what w'as possible from their scanty .earnings to- 
ward his support. This was, however, insufficient, and 
Luther often went hungry. His love for music, es- 



MARTIN LUTHER. 



245 



pecially playing the flute, aided him in obtaining bread. 
But even this was often denied him. Tired, and fainting 
with hunger, he one day sat down upon a bench before a 
cottage, and sang a plaintive song. The cottager's wife 
invited him in and fed him with coarse but abundant 
food. Frau Cotta, learning of his half-starved condi- 
tion, thenceforth has a plate for him and a warm nook in 
the chimney corner. Next we see Luther, the rising hope 
of German scholarship, entering the monastery at Er- 
furth. 

Then at Rome, driven to increased austerity of life by 
the wicked aspects surrounding, he, on his knees, climbs a 
weary, winding staircase, but finds another stairway be- 
fore him, whose top reaches to heaven. Then in 1521, 
before an imposing assembly of emperor, pope, princes 
and dignitaries, he utters his remarkable statement that 
shook the continent of Europe, closing with the words, 
"I can retract nothing unless I am convinced either from 
Scripture or by clear argument. Here I stand. I can do 
naught else, God help me. Amen." 

For ten months this hero of Wo^rms is found in Wart- 
burg Castle, translating the Bible and laying the foun- 
dations of the Reformation. He had been secretly con- 
veyed to this castle by friendly hands, instigated by the 
Elector Frederick, to- hide him from the wrath of men. 

Luther was always found standing level on the rock 
of reason, holding high above his head in every flood, the 
Word of God. After finishing his great work he retired 
at sixty-three to his native Eisleben, worn out with the 
heat and burden of the day. There he lay with closed- eyes, 
surrounded by his family and friends. Suddenly opening 
his eyes, he asked once more to gaze upon the starry heav- 
ens, and then, bidding all farewell, he charged them to 
pray for the extension of God's Kingdom and to bear 
testimony that he died in the faith he had taught. 



246 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




THE FOUNDER OF METHODISM. 



John Wesley was born at Epworth, in England, June 
17, 1703. His father was rector of Epworth, and his 
mother was well educated; a wise woman and a devoted 
Christian. 

The home training he received did much toward 
forming a character which exerted such a marvelous in- 
fluence upon his own age, and those which have followed. 
Educated at Oxford, he was ordained as priest in the 
Church of England in 1728. Dissatisfied with his own 
religious experience, he sought and found great spiritual 
power, and burning with Christian zeal, he went every- 
where preaching the gospel. Alany w^ere convicted and 
converted under his ministry. These were organized into 
societies to be trained into strong Christians. 

From those converted under his ministry, and from 
others who desired to aid in carrying on a work which 



THE FOUNDER OF METHODISM. 



247 



SO plainly evidenced that it was of God, were raised up 
helpers and preachers. These, increasing in numbers, 
- met together in conference under Mr. Wesley, that they 
might receive his counsel. 

The preachers multiplied — heard the call from Amer- 
ica, and from other lands, and now Methodist Conferences 
are held and Methodist doctrines taught and practiced 
by many millions in Europe, Asia, Africa, America and 
Oceanica. 

Mr. Wesley died on March 2, 1791, in the eighty- 
eight year of his age, and his remains were interred in 
the burial ground of City Road Chapel, in London. 

Through the influence of his preaching, example, 
spirituality, and writings, many have been greatly blessed 
who are not Methodists, and his monument is seen in the 
Methodist churches and families throughout the world. 

As Luther's name stands for the doctrine of ''Re- 
generation by Faith," so Wesley's name stands for the 
doctrine of ''Christian perfection." which negatively 
"teaches no state attainable in this life, like that of the 
angels, or of Adam in Paradise, or in which there is 
an exemption from mistakes, ignorance, infirmities, or 
temptations;" but positively, "that all saints may, by 
faith, be so filled with the love of God that 
all the powers of the soul shall be recovered 
from the abnormal, perverted, sinful condition, and, to- 
gether with the outward conduct, be controlled in entire 
harmony with love." 

Joha Wesley w^as a clear and simple preacher and 
a man of fervent piety, but of a disposition very far re- 
moved froni asceticism. Wesley did much in increasing 
spirituality in the churches. Wesleyan Methodism in its 
primitive power is aggresive, and, while increasing the 
spirituality of the churches, is successful in reaching the 
masses; but wealth and worldliness have destroyed the 
spirituality and power of many of the churches of to- 
day. 



248 



TRAITS OF CHARACTEIi. 




CARDINAL NEWMAN. 

"Lead, kindly light, amid the encircling gloom, 

Lead thou me on! 
The night is dark, and I am far from home; 

Lead thou me on! 
Keep thou my feet; I do not ask to see 
The distant scene; one step enough for me." 

Cardinal Newman was a great writer. He was also 
a great preacher. His fame was not limited to England 
alone, and yet by the masses he is known, not so much as 
the great writer and preacher, as the author of "Lead, 
Kindly Light," whicli, on account of its significant and 
practical sentiments, has endeared itself to the hearts of 
Christians of all beliefs everywhere. 

John Henry Newman was born in London, Feb. 21, 
1801, and was educated at Oxford. He might, with 
ease, have attained to literary eminence and distinction 
and won for himself laurels in the field of literature, but 
his unswerving consecration to the work which he set out 
to do, held him inflexibly to his purpose. He was or- 
dained when twenty-three years old. Several years after 



CARDINAL NEWMAN. 



249 



he was presented to the vicarage of St. Mary's, Oxford, 
in which church the sermons which he dehvered at a late 
period had an extraordinary influence in forwarding the 
religious movement with which his name is permanently 
associated. 

The plainness, evenness, simplicity and sincerity of 
Newman's life won to him all hearts. Although many 
did not agree with views that he held, yet his life was so 
powerful that it compelled universal admiration and rev- 
erence. He died August ii, 1890. The grandeur, great- 
ness and genuineness of his life had wo^n to him all 
hearts. 

Richard Hutton says, "What is perfectly clear to 
anyone who can appreciate Cardinal Newman at all, is 
that from the beginning to the end of his career he has 
been penetrated by a fervent love of God, a fervent grati- 
tude for the Christian revelation, and a steadfast resolve 
to devote the whole force of a singularly powerful, and 
even intense character, to the endeavor to promote the 
conversion of his fellow-countrymen, from their tepid a'nd 
unreal profession of Christianity to a new and profound 
faith in it. 

'Tn a century in which physical discovery and ma- 
terial well-being have usurped and almost absorbed the 
admiration of mankind, such a life as that of Cardinal 
Newman stands out in strange, and almost majestic, 
though singularly graceful and unpretending, contrast 
to the eager and agitated turmoil of confused passions, 
hesitating ideals, tentative virtues and groping philan- 
thropies, amidst which it has been lived." 

"So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still 

Will lead me on 
O'er moor and fen, o"er crag and torrent, till 

The night is gone. 
And with the morn those angel faces smile 
Which I have loved long since, and lost a while ! " 



250 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




CAREY AND HIS PUNDIT. 

WILLIAM CAREY. 

''Mr. Duff, you have been speaking about Dr. Carey; 
when I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey — speak 
about Dr. Carey's Savior." These were the parting 
words to Mr. Duff, the young Scotch missionary, when 
he last visited Mr. Carey when he was about to 
die. He died June 9, 1834, in his seventy-third year, 
after having spent forty-one years for the good of 
India, unbroken by any return to England. 

William Carey was born in England and, very early 
in life, exhibited marked tastes for botanical studies, and 
in later years, aside from his missionary work, became 
one of the most eminent horticulturists in Asia. At the 
age of fourteen he was thrown upon his own resources. 



WILLIAM CAREY. 



251 



He struggled with poverty, at the same time improving 
his spare moments in reading such books as were avail- 
able. He was early connected with a Christian church, 
and at twenty-four he was "called to the work of the 
ministry, and sent out by the church to preach the Gos- 
pel wherever God in his providence might call him." He 
was soon called to spend his life as a missionary in India. 
''I will venture to go down," replied Carey to the com- 
mittee, "but remember that you must hold the ropes." 
Breaking tender ties and surmounting many and great 
obstacles, he set sail for India, June 3, 1793. After a 
voyage of five months, he arrived with his family and 
others in India. The secret of his success in after years 
lay in the motto adopted when entering upon his work — 
''A missionary must be one of the companions and equals 
of the people to whom he is sent." 

The opposition of the East India Company greatly 
retarded his work. For some years he acted as manager 
of an indigo factory so as to be allowed to continue his 
work as a missionary, but in 1800 an enlarged field 
opened at Serampore, under the control of the Danish. 
On the last Sabbath of 1800, Krishnu, the first convert, 
was publicly baptized. Mr. Carey, having translated the 
New Testament and published it in Bengalee, was soon 
after offered a position in the Government College. As 
a missionary he was appointed to the office. This was a 
great help to the ^lission. He held this prominent posi- 
tion for thirty years, toward the close being professor of 
three Oriental languages, receiving £1,500 per annum. 
All his salary, except that necessary for his support, he ap- 
plied to the purposes of the Mission. 

Carey was an adept as a linguist, and in philan- 
thropic well-doing did a remarkable work in elevating 
the social conditions of India. Before his death he was 
permitted to see the fulfillment of his desire — the estab- 
lishment of the Church of Christ in India. 



252 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




JOHN G. PATON. 

Missionary enterprises and history everywhere 
abound with marked examples of self-sacrifice, of devo- 
tion and consecration to the noblest work upon which 
mankind can enter, but of all heroic, bold, courageous, 
daring- and venturesome examples, none surpass that of 
John G. Paton, missionary to the New Hebrides. 

, The subject of our sketch was born and educated in 
Scotland. For some years he engaged in successful mis- 
sion work in the city of Glasgow. The Reformed Presby- 
terian Church needed a man to join Rev. Inglis in the 
New Hebrides. No one seemed willing to go. At last 
Mr. Paton oflfered himself. He had greatly endeared 
himself to the members of his mission and there was great 
opposition to his leaving his work for a foreign field. 
He was undecided as to the best course. He consulted 



JOHN G. PATON. 



253 



his parents, who encouraged him whom they had early 
consecrated to the Lord, to go forward. From that mo- 
ment every doubt as to the path of duty vanished. Mr. 
and Mrs. Paton landed at Aneityum, August 30, 1857. 
They were assigned to the island of Tanna. There, sur- 
rounded by cannibals, with their lives in constant danger, 
they were left to work their way into the good will of the 
natives. Some years before, two young missionaries, 
landing on a neighboring island, were at once clubbed to 
death and their bodies cooked and eaten. Mr. and Mrs. 
Paton were in constant danger of the same fate. It was 
their coolness, their presence of mind, and their fear- 
lessness that saved them. Mrs. Paton soon died, leaving 
Mr. Paton all alone in his work. Many times the na- 
tives threatened his life and planned to kill him, but by his 
boldness he evaded their frequent attacks. Plis blankets 
and other property were often stolen and only returned 
when great fear of punishment came upon them. 
He spent five lonely years on this island, en- 
during untold hardships, and many times es- 
,caped being murdered by running into the 
arms of some savage when his club was swung or his 
musket leveled at Mr. Paton's head. By uncapping the 
musket, or by clinging to the assailant, he more than 
once saved his life. At last he was compelled to leave. 
After some years spent in Australia and Scotland securing 
funds for the mission, he again entered upon the work in 
the New Hebrides. After many years abounding with 
thrilling and eventful scenes, Mr. Paton was enabled to 
see the fulfillment of the desire for which he had given his 
life — that of establishing missionaries and Christian 
teachers, and Christianizing the natives of these islands. 
There are few, if any, lives that surpass Mr. Paton's in 
Christian heroism. A few years ago Mr. Paton visited 
the United States. He was received everywhere with 
unbounded enthusiasm. 




JERRY McAULEY. 

One of the most prominent agencies of Rescue Mis- 
sion work in the great city of New York, is Water Street 
Mission, begun by Jerry McAuley, more than twenty-five 
years ago. Here every evening for years, after a brief 
service of song, a prayer for Divine blessing, and a read- 
ing of God's word, Jerry would introduce the testi- 
monies by giving his own. It was expected that this 
mission, located in the heart of corruption in New York 
City, would reach the worst and most wretched people. 
This expectation was realized, in that many a drunkard, 
thief, and harlot knelt at the tear-stained altar and rose 
from their knees sober, honest and virtuous. In all lands 
under the sun, where faithful missionaries have been toil- 
ing amid danger and disease to save the lost, has the news 
of God's power in Water Street come, and given re- 
newed strength for the conflict. Thousands of criminal 
lives have been redeemed and made useful, honored citi- 



JERRY McAULEY. 



255 



zens. and in many cases the converts of Water Street 
JNIission have become noted evangehsts and rescue work- 
ers. 

But who is Jerry McAuley? Jerry McAuley was 
born in Ireland. His father was a counterfeiter, and the 
family was soon broken up by sin. Jerry came to New 
York when thirteen years of age, and soon 'entered 
upon his career as a river-thief — stealing goods from ves- 
sels at night and then selling them and spending time 
and money in the dens of Water Street. Here he be- 
came an adept as a prize-fighter, and engaged in every 
form of vice and crime. At nineteen he was arrested for 
highway robbery. Although entirely innocent of the 
crime with which he was charged, having no friends or 
advocate to defend him, he was sentenced to fifteen years 
in State prison. About five years after, he one Sunday 
morning v;ent to services in the chapel. He was sur- 
prised to find on the platform a former confederate in sin, 
who had been converted after Jerry's imprisonment. 
The earnest pleadings of this man touched !Mc- 
Auley. and he was soon after converted. Through 
his efiforts a number of his companions were con- 
verted. After serving- half his time he was pardoned 
and soon through evil associates fell into his former ways 
of sin. Through the earnest ef¥orts of a missionary he 
was again restored. Jerry fell five times before he be- 
came established in the Christian faith. He attributed 
his fall to the use of tobacco, and asserted that when a 
man has had an appetite for liquor, and is trying to keep 
from drinking, the use of tobacco is positively fatal. He 
gave up' tobacco and never fell afterward. Four years 
later he started the famous Water Street Mission. The 
results of that work are well known. Through all these 
years the work has gone steadily and successfuUv for- 
ward. 



256 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




JAMES BRAINERD TAYLOR. 

The subject of this sketch is not here presented be- 
cause of a world-wide reputation. History, so called, 
knows him not, nor is he widely known as a marked 
character in any specific work, as far as years are con- 
sidered, for his career was short. Nevertheless, marked 
manhood is here exhibited in rare, but excellent traits of 
character. James Brainerd Taylor stands prominently as 
an instructive example, a worthy model of a Christian 
student. The dangers that beset the student of today arc 
not imaginary, but real and very seductive. Many a 
noble youth, just on the threshold of promising man- 
hood, has yielded to temptations and given up the sim- 
plicity of the faith of his fathers. 

The complaint has been frequently made — and very 
frequently the effect has been seen and lamented — that 
a collegiate life has dampened the ardor of piety and 
greatly diminished its power. Indeed, the impression has 



JAMES BRAIXERD TAYLOR. 



257 



been deep and disastrous, that this is the necessary effect 
of a course of study in our higher institutions of learning. 
Not a few honest minds have on this account been 
prejudiced against a college education. The faultiness of 
this impression has been clearly demonstrated by James 
Brainerd Taylor. Aware of these impressions, he en- 
tered upon his course of studies with fixed resolutions, 
and by a strict adherence to the same, he was effectually 
secured against any class spirit, or any false code of 
honor wliereby so many have been led into looseness of 
morals and into paths not noted for virtue. The life 
of this promising youth shows that it is altogether prac- 
ticable to pass through the trying scenes of college life, 
not only without losing one's spirituality, but with large 
accessions to his stores of self-knowledge, and of entire 
devotedness to God, • 

Born in 1801, in Connecticut, religious impressions 
took hold of him early in life. His seeing Dr. Scudder 
and his wife take their departure for India seemed to 
have fixed his mind as to his future work. From that 
time forth, until he closed his eyes in death, he gave him- 
self fully to the calling of the ministry. He soon entered 
school preparatory to bis work, and most assiduously 
applied himself to his studies, at the same time giving his 
attention to earnest Christian efforts to save his fellow 
students. From the beginning of his Christian life 
he proposed to be what he termed an uncommon 
Christian. His zeal for the salvation of those around 
him was unabated. He was often hindered in his work 
and at one time, he was suspended by the faculty of an 
institution for no other reason than that of holding meet- 
ings with his fellow students for their spiritual benefit. 

He died in his twenty-ninth year, having hardly en- 
tered upon his life work, but his influence as a Christian 
student still lives. 
17 



258 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




HORACE MANN. 



Horace Mann is the most interesting character in 
American educational hfe. The Hfe, the work, the im- 
perishable influence of this great educator and bene- 
factor of the present century generated a power whose 
momentmn has not yet died away. 

Success in life consists in being fitted by natural en- 
dowments for a given work and possessing the recogni- 
tion of fitness for it. Every great leader and inspirer 
whose life has left its impress on his age and perpetuated 
his influence has united these two qualifications. Such 
success is, too, synonymous with the greatest happiness 
in life, and includes it. For true happiness is in achieve- 
ment of noble purposes, and not in any mere self-in- 
dulgence in pleasures or luxuries. No consecrated bishop 
ever brought to humanity a sense of more sacred service 
and direct responsibility than did Horace Mann. He 
came into this world divinely commissioned for a given 



HORACE MANN. 



259 



work; and to his marvelous energy and patient per- 
sistence in accomplishing it, the present century owes 
incalculable illumination and aid. 

Born in Franklin, Mass., May 4, 1796; reared in a 
home of poverty; in school but ten weeks of each year; 
with never a holiday for play, but an occasional hour 
for fun; with no attractive books, but a town library of 
''solid reading" accessible; earning the money by braiding 
straw for the purchase of all the schoolbooks he used, 
he grew up a thoughtful youth, with intense convictions. 

In six months from the time he first saw a Latin or 
Greek book he entered Brown University, and gradu- 
ated with honors. Entering upon the practice of law, he 
served ten }'ears in the Massachusetts Legislature, and 
two terms in Congress. His greatest work was, how- 
ever, done when he stood by appointment of the Govern- 
or of Massachusetts at the head of the educational forces 
of his state, and practically of the nation. The remaining 
six years of his life were spent in heroic sacrifice for the 
cause of liigher education in the then new West, as presi- 
dent of Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio. 

The political life of Mr. Mann had been in the 
stormy period of the slavery conflict. He espoused the 
anti-slavery cause with the utmost vigor and enthusiasm, 
and made many noted speeches and issued pamphlets em- 
bodying his arguments. 

It needs no moralist to point the lesson of the life 
of Horace Mann. It is good to take its significance into 
our hearts. "A great integrity makes us immortal," says 
Emerson. "It is not length of life but depth of life that 
signifies." It is good for us all to treasure in memory 
those closing words of that last baccalaureate sermon de- 
livered at Antioch College by President Mann: 

"And I beseech you to treasure up in your hearts 
these, my parting words: 'Be ashamed to die till you 
have won some victory for humanity." 



260 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




JOSEPH COOK. 
''Looking within us, we find in conscience an ob- 
servatory higher than that of physical science ever was, 
from which to gaze upon the supreme harmonies of the 
universe." 

"After all, it is the utterance of personal conviction 
that serious men want. The shortest way of coming at 
men's hearts, and sometimes the shortest way of coming 
at men's heads, is to tell what you, personally willing to 
take the leap into the unseen, are depending upon." 

"Let those who are outside of oath-bound secret 
societies stay out. Stay out in the name of personal 
independvence, in the name of patriotism, in the name of 
Christianity. To those inside oath-bound organiza 
tions, I say, come out as patriots; come out as Chris- 
tians; come out as unmanacled men." 

The above selections clearly give the trend of the 
mind of one who, in many respects, stands out promi- 
nently as one of the greatest men of the nineteenth cen- 
tury. 

Joseph Cook was born in Ticonderoga, New York, 
Jan. 26, 1838. His early life already showed remarka- 
ble traits. Whenever opportunity presented he bought 



JOSEPH COOK. 



261 



books of merit, and eagerly made himself familiar with 
their contents. At one time he won a prize, and was 
offered the choice between a watch and a cyclopedia. 
He chose the cyclopedia. He entered Yale, but fail- 
ing health compelled him to leave. Later he entered 
Harvard and graduated in 1865. He then spent three 
years at Andover. A license to preach w^as then granted 
him, but he declined a settled pastorate. He visited 
Europe, and in 1873 began his "Boston Monday Lec- 
tures" on the relation of religion, science and social re- 
form. These lectures, although given at noon, drew 
immense audiences of more than three thousand. They 
soon gave him a w^orld-wide fame. He then took the 
platform, and throughout the United States lectured 
upon his favorite themes of philosophy, science and poli- 
tics. Some of his principal lectures w^ere, "Does Death 
End All?" "Lltimate America," "God in Natural Law%" 
"Certainties in Religion/' "Law* and Labor," "Alcohol 
and the Human Brain," and "Religious Signs of the 
Times." In 1880 he began a tour around the w^orld, 
lecturing in Europe, India, China, Japan, Australia, and 
the Sandwich Islands. He was everywhere greeted 
with the same enthusiasm and favor abroad as at home. 

Mr. Cook's published works are many. They have 
had a very wdde circulation. He demonstrates clearly 
that science is in harmony with religion and the Bible. 
Broken down in health by many years of intense, and 
constant application, he withdrew from the platform in 
1896. In his sphere Joseph Cook has not met his equal. 
The W'Orld, the Church, is better for his having lived. 
Few^ men have had a wider influence, a firmer hold, and 
a more commanding outlook than Joseph Cook. The 
best that can be said of him is that he availed himself of 
every opportunity to draw men, not to himself, but to 
Christ. 



262 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




NEAL DOW. 



"I am very weary, I long to be free," said General 
Neal Dow, on October 2, 1897, and peacefully passed 
away in his ninety-fourth year. Neal Dow was associated 
in earlier years with many reformers, but there was but 
one original prohibitionist, and he was that one. Neal 
Dow is rightly called the father of prohibition. He 
spent his boyhood days in his father's tannery. Bubbling 
over with enterprise, the tannery could not long hold 
him, and he soon engaged in business for himself. He 
was successful in a number of business undertakings. 
Municipal affairs interested him keenly, and he soon 
made this interest tell. He acquired fixed habits of read- 
ing, and in this manner and through extended travel he 
was well informed on all important subjects. He fought 
in the Union ranks, was twice wounded in battle and 



NEAL DOW. 



263 



spent months as a prisoner of war. He served his state in 
high official capacity, but his world-wide fame has come 
through his championship of the cause of prohibition. 
He was forcible as an extemporaneous speaker. He was 
invited to England three times, and spent more than four 
years, without compensation, in advocacy of prohibition 
in the principal cities of Great Britain. 

In 1 85 1 he was mayor of Portland the first time and 
drafted ''A bill for the suppression of drinking houses and 
tippling shops." His friends said it was too radical to 
pass, but, undaunted, he presented it to the legislature, and 
by a powerful speech in its favor carried it unchanged. 
In later years this law became a part of the constitution of 
the state. 

His life has been one long sacrifice for prohibition, 
which he espoused when drinking was deemed indis- 
pensable to the health and happiness of man. His task 
was to reverse public opinion and to crystallize the ideas 
of prohibition into the law of the land. "His strength 
and success as a reformer were largely due to the fact 
that his zeal was tempered and controlled by a rare com- 
mon sense, and his labor was characterized by a sweet- 
ness of character which made his conscience void of 
offense toward God and man." He was an intimate 
friend of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and 
that organization has for some years observed March 20, 
his birthday, in honor of this great man. He wielded 
tongue and sword and pen to smite the wrong. Every 
Christian land on the face of the globe thanks God for 
the blows this brave man struck at intemperance, for his 
loyalty to God and to his country, for his pure and conse- 
crated life given entirely to prohibition and reform work. 
"The John the Baptist of prohibition has fallen, but the 
prophets of his baptism have gone out over all the earth." 



264 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER, 




JOHN B. GOUGH. 

Among temperance workers, both in America and 
in England, there is no name so widely known as that of 
John B. Gough. 

Born in Xewgate, England, he early came to Ameri- 
ca. He had no friends and struggled against poverty for 
some years, at times not being able to obtain work. At 
last, although receiving but three dollars a week, he suc- 
ceeded in laying by enough to send for his mother and 
sister in England. He was peculiarly attached to his 
mother, and it was no doubt her influence over him that 
restrained him and kept him from the paths of sin as 
long as she lived. Soon after their arrival he found work 
for his sister. They lived a humble, but happy life, until 
both brother and sister lost their places. Although 
having struggled with poverty all through life, they 
were now to learn what poverty and suffering among the 
poor in the large city of New York meant. John's affec- 



JOHN B. GOUGH. 



265 



lion for his mother was,, however, unwavering. It is 
said that at one time, when she was sick, he pawned his 
coat to get food for her. She soon succumbed to the 
seemingly increasing hardships that made up her hfe. 
She fell dead one evening while preparing their simple 
supper. From this time forth Mr. Gough seemed 
to have given up all ambition and hope. His course 
was rapidly downward. The appetite for strong drink 
began to fasten itself upon him, and soon it w^as his 
master. Rallying for a time, he would again be over- 
come, until delirium tremens fastened itself upon him. 
Life was indeed a burden to him. He had about con- 
cluded to end it when, through a kind word spoken by a 
young man, Mr. Stratton, he was induced to sign the 
pledge, and to make an earnest effort to regain lost man- 
hood. Although after that he was overcome once and 
yielded to his depraved appetite, he was induced by kind 
friends to renew his pledge. He soon became a Christian, 
and from that time forth began his work in the tem- 
perance field. Although uneducated he, with the earnest 
aid of his noble wife, succeeded in fitting himself for the 
platform. For a number of years he was the ablest and 
most popular temperance orator, and by his eloquence 
won many thousands to sign the pledge. He visited 
England, and was no less esteemed there than in America. 
Everywhere he was met by thousands who came to hear 
him. The story of his sad life touched many hearts, and 
his successful rising from what seemed to be hopeless 
despair inspired many to forsake their evil ways and to 
aspire to noble manhood. Mr. Gough did a great, a re- 
markable work. A kind w^ord saved him and made him 
the ablest temperance orator of his time. He died in 
1886, but the impetus he gave the temperance work is 
going forw^ard with increasing rapidity. 



266 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




GEORGE W. CHILDS. 



'*If I only could finish a college course and then 
probably complete a professional course, success would 
be assured me," says the average young man of today. 
Another thinks a "start" in business life is all that he 
needs. While many are thinking of what they might 
accomplish if circumstances were dif¥erent, it is the few 
who, without advantages and facilities possessed by 
many, set to work with brave and true hearts and, over- 
coming difficulties, make themselves felt as leaders and 
benefactors. 

"Nothing without labor" is the motto that for many 
years met the eye of everyone who called at the private 
office of the proprietor of the "Philadelphia Ledger." 

For generosity toward deserving charities, as well 
as toward all under his employ in the matter of wages, 
no personage of the present century stands out with 
larger liberal-heartedness and with greater prominence 
than does that manly figure of George W. Childs. 



GEORGE W. CHILDS. 



267 



Born and raised in Baltimore, he, after serving in the 
United States navy for a year, came, . when fourteen 
vears old, to Philadelphia, with courage, a ready mind 
and a willing heart as his capital stock, and soon found 
work in a bookstore at two dollars a week. In four years 
he had saved enough to open up a little store for him- 
self, and when he was twenty-one years old he became 
the head of a publishing house. ''Kane's Arctic Expedi- 
tion." published by liim, became a very popular volume 
and brought the young publisher to the front financially 
and every other way. His ambition for many years was to 
ovv-n and control the ''Public Ledger." This desire was 
gratified when, in 1864, Mr. Childs became owner and 
proprietor of this daily of the City of Brotherly Love. 
He at once lowered the price of the paper and of adver- 
tising, and in a short time doubled its subscription. His 
paper became very popular; the profits of some years 
netted nearly five hundred thousand dollars. 

He always treated his workmen generously. Once 
when the Typographical Union sanctioned a reduction of 
wages, he refused to reduce the wages of his compositors, 
saying, ''my business is prosperous, why should not m.y 
men share in my prosperity?" This unusual act of gen- 
erosity on the part of an employer endeared him to the 
hearts of his employes, and more than any other act of 
his made the name and generous spirit of George W. 
Childs known throughout the world. Increasing- in 
wealth, his large-hearted liberality knew no bounds. 
AVhile not forgetting public institutions, his most munifi- 
cent gifts were for improving the conditions of the poorer 
and laboring classes,. 

"Mr. Childs was a wonderful man. His ability to 
apply the power of money in advancing the well-being 
of his fellow-men stands unrivaled." 



268 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




COUNT TOLSTOI. 



While Russia has long been a synonym for despot- 
ism and oppression, there is associated with it one name 
that has become familiar in many lands as representing 
a benevolence remarkable in theory and practice alike. 
Count Tolstoi is well known as an author, but better 
known as a man. He is descended from one of Russia's 
oldest families, and before he was twenty he came into 
possession of a large amount of property. His ideas 
during his early life w^ere not very different from those 
prevailing in his class, although he soon showed a dis- 
position to help the poor people living on his estate. As 
a youth Tolstoi attended the University of Kazan, and 
at the age of twenty-three he entered the army and went 
with his brother to the Caucasus. He fought in the 
Crimean war, and at its close resigned his commission 
and devoted himself to literature. One of his earliest 



COUNT TOLSTOI. 269 

works, ''War and Peace," is most appraised by Rus- 
sians. It deals with the invasion of Russia by Napo- 
leon. Another of his most popular works is ''Anna 
Karenina." Meredith says Anna is the most perfectly 
depicted female character in all fiction. Since he brought 
out "Anna Karenina" in 1876 Tolstoi has given him- 
self up to social problems, with the hope of supplying 
mankind w'ith a better moral and religious philosophy 
than that which now obtains in the world. Witnessing 
an execution, led him to study the relations of govern- 
ment and religion, with the result that he came to adopt 
as the practical creed of his life the Sermon on the Mount 
in its most literal meaning. Following out his princi- 
ple, he lives in the most simple style. He and his fam-' 
ily work with the laborers on their farm. He learned 
the trade of a shoemaker and gives much of his time to 
work at the bench. His life and words are made a con- 
stant protest against injustice everywhere. His wealth 
is most freely shared with the poor; and, were he left 
free to follow his own course, he would doubtless be 
ready to give away all that he has. His fine scholar- 
ship, also, is devoted to the service of others, and he has 
been engaged in preparing for the common people a col- 
lection of the best thought from the greatest thinkers of 
all times. The persecuted Stundists have had his warm- 
est sympathy, and such is the hold that he has gained 
that no one person, probably, wields a greater moral influ- 
ence in Russia to-day. His works are eagerly sought, 
and some that have not been published have a wide cir- 
culation in manuscript among the people. However lit- 
tle one may approve not a few of Tolstoi's positions, it 
cannot be denied that he has stood for principles that 
hitherto have been in little danger of being too strongly 
emphasized either in theory or in practice. 



270 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




SUSANNA WESLEY. 
''The Mother of Methodism" was born in London 
in 1669, and was the youngest child of Dr. Samuel 
Annesley, an able and prominent minister, who paid 
every attention to the education of his favorite daughter. 
When Susanna was twenty years of age she and her hus- 
band, Samuel Wesley, a graduate of Exeter College and 
a curate in London, began married life on an income 
of sixty pounds a year. The young husband was a dili- 
gent student and devoted to his work; his beautiful wife, a 
person of fine manners. Had Susanna Wesley not been 
a person of very strong will, she could not have borne 
all the trials, privations and hardships incident to her 
long and toilsome life. Not only did poverty often stare 
the rapidly increasing family in the face, but in 1702 
their home was destroyed by fire and other troubles fast 
followed. Mr. Wesley, owing debts which he could not 
pay, was put into prison, where he remained three months 



SUSANNA WESLEY. 



271 



before his friends succeeded in releasing him. A still 
greater calamity was awaiting them. In 1709 Epworth 
Rectory was burned to the ground, and some of the chil- 
dren narrowly escaped with their lives. Their books, 
which had been purchased with great self-denial, twenty 
pounds in money and their clothing were all gone. A 
month later Mrs. Wesley's nineteenth and last child was 
born. The rectory was after a time rebuilt and the scat- 
tered family reunited. 

Notwithstanding her manifold household duties Mrs. 
Wesley found time for a vast amount of literary work. 
Not only did she conduct a household school, which she 
continued for twenty years, but she prepared three text- 
books for the religious training of her children. 

She also held Sunday evening services in the rec- 
tory for her children and servants. Others asked per- 
mission to come, and often two hundred were present. 

The letters she wrote to her children give some 
insight into her pure and noble character. When John 
entered school at London many letters passed between 
mother and son. She advised what books to read. 'Tmi- 
tation of Christ" and "Rules for Holy Living and Dying'' 
made lasting impressions upon him. When he was first 
asked to go to America to preach the gospel he hesi- 
tated, wishing to remain near his aged mother. Wlien 
he consulted her she replied, "Had I twenty sons, I should 
rejoice were they all so employed, though I should never 
see them again." What must have been her feelings as 
she witnessed the grand work done by this son before 
she was called away. "Children, as soon as I am released 
sing a psalm of praise to God," was her last uttered 
request. The words of her son Charles, "God buries the 
workmen, but the work goes on," are true, and though 
this model mother has long since passed away, the grand 
work of her sons still goes forward. 



272 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




ELIZABETH FRY. 



This eminent philanthropist and preacher of the Soci- 
ety of Friends, whose active and untiring exertions in 
the cause of suf¥ering humanity were unparalleled in one 
of her own sex, was born in England in 1780. She 
grew up to be a thoughtful woman, with great musical 
talent, and was of a firm and determined disposition. 

Elizabeth Gurney married Air. Fry in 1800, and thir- 
teen years afterward the deplorable condition of the 
women imprisoned at Newgate so attracted her atten- 
tion that she resolved upon visiting them, and thus com- 
menced the great philanthropic work which has caused 
her name to be remembered with love and gratitude by 
so many. 



ELIZABETH FRY. 



273 



Alone and unprotected, she entered the part of the 
prison where one hundred and sixty of the most disor- 
derly were immured, and addressed them with a dignity, 
power and gentleness which at once fixed their attention. 
She then read and expounded a portion of the Scripture, 
many of those unhappy beings havmg on that occasion 
heard the word of God for the first time. To these 
unfortunate women she pointed the way to a nobler 
and holier life, in which Christ's love should constrain 
them to give up their sinful ways. She instituted a 
school within the prison walls; provided work for the 
women and the means of Christian instruction. 

The almost immediate result was order, sobriety and 
neatness in the place of the riot, licentiousness, idleness 
and filth which had previously prevailed. For the relief 
of women in foreign prisons she made frequent conti- 
nental journeys. She also interested herself in the abo- 
lition of slavery, the advancement of education and the 
distribution of tracts. To the poor and helpless her char- 
ities were unbounded. In her journal she writes: 'T 
love to feel for the sorrows of others, to pour wine and 
oil into the wounds of the afflicted ; there is a luxury in 
feeling the heart glow, whether it be with joy or sorrow." 
Not only did Mrs. Fry visit the English prisons, but 
she made her way to the jails and refuges of Holland, 
Germany and France, and by her influence caused a 
great improvement in the bodily and mental condition 
of the prisoners there. After thirty years of incessant 
labor among the unfortunate and degraded classes of 
society, this noble woman passed away to her well-earned 
rest in 1845. Soon after her death a public meeting 
was held in London for establishing, as the best monu- 
ment to her memory, "The Elizabeth Fry Refuge," for 
affording temporary food and shelter to destitute women 
on their discharge from metropolitan prisons. 

18 



274 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




HARRIET BEECHER STOWE. 



To the parsonage at Litchfield, Conn., there came 
with the roses a baby girl June 14, 181 1, the seventh 
child of Rev. Lyman and Roxanna Beecher. She 
received the best of training and care for five years, when 
a shadow fell upon the household, as eight little children 
gathered around the bedside of their dying mother. 

When she was twelve years old her sister Catharine 
built the Hartford Female Seminary, where Harriet soon 
became a pupil-teacher. Nine years later her father be- 
came the president of the Lane Theological Seminary, 
at Cincinnati. Catharine and Harriet accompanied him, 
and here the sisters opened another school. In 1836 
Harriet Beecher married Calvin E. Stowe, the professor 
of Biblical criticism in the seminary, a learned and able 
man. 

Meantime the question of slavery was agitating the 
minds of Christian people. Slaves fled into the free states 



HARRIET BEiECiHER STOWE. 



275 



and were helped into Canada by means of the Under- 
ground Railway. The Fugitive Slave Law was hunting 
colored people and sending them back into servitude. 
Mrs. Stowe was bitterly opposed to slavery and opened 
her house to colored children, whom she taught as her 
own. Could she not do something for this oppressed 
race? 

The pattern of Uncle Tom having formed itself in 
her mind, the first chapter was sent to the "National Era" 
in Washington, in April, 185 1, and the last in April, 1852. 
"She had put her lifeblood, her prayers and her tears 
into the work; yet she had no reason to know that her 
labors were to find response in the world." As the story 
neared completion Mr. Jewett, of Boston, of¥ered to pub- 
lish it, and both publisher and author were surprised at 
the result. Three thousand copies were sold the first 
day of publication and over three hundred thousand the 
first year. In England more than thirty editions appeared 
in less than six months. One writer says, "It added 
thousands of soldiers to the Union army. It hastened 
emancipation in Brazil and Russia, and has stirred to pas- 
sionate fervor the hearts of 'Cuba Libre.' " The sale of 
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" has not ceased. Other books fol- 
lowed, most of which have been widely read. Her sum- 
mer residence in Hartford, Conn., has been visited by 
thousands who honored the noble woman and gifted 
author. At this home on July i, 1896, this remarkable 
woman, whose life had been an inspiration to poets, 
artists, statesmen and reformers, quietly breathed her last. 
Her husband and some of her children had preceded her, 
and she said, "I am more interested in the other side of 
Jordan than this, though this still has its pleasures." 
"Her life is but another confirmation of the well-known 
fact that the best work of the world is done, not by loiter- 
ers, but by those whose hearts and hands are full of 
duties." 



276 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Long after the temperance reform has become a mat- 
ter of past history, long after the "Woman Question" has 
brought about the equahty of men and women, poHtical 
social and financial, the name of Frances Willard will be 
remembered, not only as one who led a great movement, 
but as one who gave her life, her talent, her enthusiasm, 
to make the world wider for women and better for human- 
ity. 

Born in Churchville, N. Y., 1839, and brought up on 
a farm in Wisconsin, Miss Willard retained all through 
her life the wholesome, breezy atmosphere of those early 
days. Graduating from Northwestern Female College, 
Evanston, in 1859, serving in turn as professor of natural 
science in her Alma Mater and principal of Genesee Wes- 
leyan Seminary, spending two years in foreign travel and 
study, then three years as dean of the Woman's College, 
Evanston, 111., she left her profession in 1874 to identify 



FRANCES WILLARD. 



277 



herself with the ^^'oman's Christian Temperance Union. 
In 1879 she was elected president of that organization, 
and for nineteen successive years served with such favor 
and adaptability that her re-elections were always practi- 
cally unanimous. For ten years until her death in 1898 
she was president of the World's Christian Temperance 
Union, 

Frances E. Willard was a great leader, and with irre- 
sistible charm drew to lierself even those who had not 
the courage to follow her. At the last convention at 
which she presided in Buffalo in 1897, when there was 
doubt as to whether the debt of the national building, 
'The Temple," could be paid, she electrified the conven- 
tion by her earnest words, and had she lived to carry out 
her plans, would have cleared away the debt in her fifty- 
ninth year dedicated to that work. 

]\Iiss Willard was a giant among her sex. She had 
all the accomplishments that a woman could ask for; had 
Christ in her heart and a love for all mankind. As a con- 
versationalist she had few superiors. ''Her reasoning 
was luminous and homely ; her illustrations full of poetry 
and humor; her pathos as natural as tears to a child." 

Queen Cleopatra with her beauty, the Queen of 
Sheba with her wisdom, Queen Elizabeth with her benev- 
olence and Queen Mctoria with her goodness — each of 
these had some characteristic worthy of admiration, but 
in Frances Willard, the "Uncrowned Queen of America," 
all these, together with every noble and lovely trait of 
Christian womanhood, blended. 

Very truly does Airs. Clara Hoffman say, "When 
the temperance reform emerges from the shadowland of 
unpopularity and asserts its practicability upon the sunlit 
hilltops of triumphant victory, and its hour draweth near 
— then, bright and glorious among all who have dared 
and achieved will stand in golden letters of light the name 
of our Frances Willard." 



278 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




LADY HENRY SOMERSET. 



Some thirty years ago Lady Isabel, then a pretty 
Httle girl of seven, was, on a public occasion, taken to the 
palace of the Queen, x^fter wandering about for some 
time, she was attracted by the royal seat, and clambering 
in, she sat down. When the Queen came she smiled to 
see a pretty damsel dressed in white sitting in state in the 
chair of majesty. As she reached the seat she said pleas- 
antly, "This is little Isabel." 

Fourteen years later, when Lord Henry Somerset, 
a younger son of the Beaufort family, and already a mem- 
ber of the House of Commons, pressed his suit, Lady Isa- 
bel became Lady Henry Somerset. Although in society 
and a woman of the world, she was not a worldly woman. 
She loved solitude and could not have found a more se- 
cluded Patmo'S than that which welcomed her at East- 
nor Castle, and at this delightful place Lady Henry 
retired to study, and to devote herself to the training of 
her only son, who is as devoted to her as she is to him. 



LADY HEiXRY SOMERSET. 



279 



She started a small temperance society in the village and 
her first speech was delivered to the villagers in a little 
schoolroom close to the castle gates. That was the first 
decided step that led her to the presiden'cy of the most 
active temperance society in England. 

It was about this time that she read Miss Willard's 
tribute to her sister ]\Iary, ''Nineteen Beautiful Years." 
Her first visit to America was mainly for the purpose of 
becoming acquainted with Miss Willard and to under- 
stand from her the principles upon which she had organ- 
ized the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, of which 
she had long been president. Not only did she find in 
Miss Willard a sister beloved, but she was welcomed to 
the hearts of the best people from Maine to California. 
She made good use of her time. She attended Moody's 
school for evangelists, took part in editing the "Union 
Signal," addressed public meetings and acchmatized her- 
self as an American more rapidly than any English noble 
has ever done before. Lady Henry, who has given 
twelve years of constant activity to temperance work, was 
elected president of the British Woman's Temperance 
Association in 1891, which office she held for nearly seven 
years, when ill-health compelled her to lay it down. 

Frances Willard says: ''Lady Henry has a gift of 
eloquence in speaking that has made her the foremost 
woman orator of her time and a gift of writing that has 
been characterized in terms of highest commendation by 
literary experts; to crown all these she has a tender faith 
and spirituality irradiating all her daily life and a humor 
so rare that they are perhaps the first qualities noted on 
meeting her. The misfortune of losing her through over- 
work from the white-ribbon army in England is greater 
than any other we have yet sustained." In closing her 
letter of resignation to the "British Women," Lady 
Henr\^ quotes the pathetic couplet — " 

"My half day's -work is done, and this is all my part, 
To give a patient God my patient lieart." 



280 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




FLORENCE NIGHTIXGALE. 

Not one general of the Crimean War on either side 
can be named by one person in a hundred. The one 
name that rises instantly, when that carnival of pestilence 
and blood is suggested, is that of one of the foremost 
names in modern philanthropy, a noble yormg woman, 
Florence Xightingale. who robbed war of much of its 
terror and brought consolation and relief to thousands of 
suffering and neglected ones. 

Florence Nightingale was born in 1823 at Florence, 
Italy. Highly educated and brilliantly accomplished, 
she early exhibited an intense devotion to the alleviation 
of suffering, which, in 1844, led her to give attention to 
the condition of hospitals. She visited and inspected 
civil and military hospitals all over Europe; studied the 
system of nursing and management carried out in the 
hospitals of Paris; and in 185 1 went into training as a 



F L O R EN CE NIGH Tl N G A L E . 



281 



nurse in an institution in Germany. On her return to 
England she put into thorough working order the sani- 
tarium for governesses in London. In 1854 war was 
declared with Russia, and a British army of 25,000 men 
sailed to the east. The wounded from the battle of Alma, 
fought September 20, w^ere sent to hospitals hastily pre- 
pared on the Bosporus. These ho^spitals were soon 
crowded and their unhealthy condition became apparent 
in a rate of mortality surpassing that of the fiercest battle. 
In this crisis Florence Nightingale of¥ered herself as or- 
ganizer of a nursing department. She was gladly ac- 
cepted, and within a week from the date of the ofi'er she 
departed with her nurses. She arrived at Constantinople 
on the day of the second battle. She found the wards 
filled with more than two thousand patients, soon aug- 
mented by the wounded of the second battle. Her devo- 
tion to the sufferers was remarkable. Several times she 
stood for twenty consecutive hours in order to see them 
provided with the requisites of their condition. She 
clearly saw that the frightful mortality was caused by the 
bad sanitary arrangements, and with incessant labor and 
devotion set about to improve them. Several times she 
was prostrate with fever, but refused to leave her post, 
and, on her recovery, remained until the war ended. She 
had saved the life and health of many a soldier, but the 
physical and mental strain was too much for her frail 
body. She returned to England after the war, and was 
honored by all. She had made the sacrifice at the ex- 
pense of her own health, destined to spend her remain- 
ing years as an invalid in her home in England. But 
even in her home her active mind was not idle. She has 
written a number of volumes on nursing and hospital re- 
form. It is but just to say that through her efforts the 
hospital systems of all nations have been greatly im- 
proved. 



282 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




GRACE DARLING. 



From a humble station in life, acting well her part 
in it, Grace Darling, who on one occasion manifested 
some of the highest qualities of human nature, was for 
this reason respected and admired by persons of every 
rank, and acquired a celebrity which spread over the 
greater part of the civilized world. 

A daughter of William Darling, a lighthouse keeper, 
her residence on Longstone Island during her girlish 
years and till the time of her death was constant, there 
being only occasional visits to the coast. She is described 
as having been remarkable for a retiring and somewhat 
reserved disposition. She had reached her twenty-sec- 
ond year when the incident occurred by which her name 
has been rendered so famous. 

A vessel, having on board sixty-three persons, on a 
voyage from Hull to Dundee, was wrecked in a terrible 
storm near the Longstone ligdithouse. Nine of the pas- 
sengers had betaken themselves to the windlass in the 



GRACE DARLING. 



283 



fore part of the vessel as a place of safety, and here they 
remained till daybreak. 

At the lighthouse, nearly a mile away, through the 
dim mist, with the aid of a glass, the figures of these suf- 
ferers were seen clinging to the wreck. To have braved 
the perils of that terrible passage would have done honor 
to the nerves of the strongest man, but what shall be said 
of the errand of mercy being rmdertaken through the 
strength of a woman's arm? At the solicitation of Grace 
Darling, a boat was launched, father and daughter en- 
tered in, each taking an oar, and by the exertion of great 
muscular power the boat was carried up the rock and 
the nine sufferers were rescued. Their feeling of delight 
at the approach of the boat was changed into a feeling of 
amazement when they became aware that one of their 
deliverers was a woman. 

The subsequent events of Grace Darling's life are 
soon told. The deed she had done wafted her name over 
all Europe. The lonely lighthouse became the center 
of attraction to thousands, including many who testified 
by substantial tokens the esteem Avith which they re- 
garded the young heroine. The duke and duchess of 
Northumberland presented her with a gold watch, which 
she always wore when visitors came. Her name was 
applauded amongst all ranks ; portraits of her were sought 
for, but amidst this applause Grace Darling did not for- 
get the modest dignity which becam_e her sex and station. 
The flattering testimonials simply produced in her mind 
a feeling of wonder and grateful pleasure. 

The grasp of death was fastened upon her before the 
plaudits of her noble deed had died away. She was never 
heard to complain during her illness, but exhibited the 
utmost Christian resignation throughout, and on the 20th 
of October, 1842, at the age of twenty-seven, she resigned 
her spirit without a murmur. 



284 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




KATE SHELLEY. 

We honor those who in the face of danger or in the 
presence of an enemy are incited to deeds of daring, but 
the heroism of the battle-field is not of the highest order; 
they who elevate their fellow-men — who save them — are 
the most valiant. The best men and women have given 
themselves for others without thought of fame or honor. 

Women, quite as capable of endurance as men, have 
especially distinguished themselves in missionary and 
philanthropic enterprises, many of whom have toiled and 
suffered, not for gorgeous glory, but for something higher 
and better than the world can give. 

Sometimes a single act of bravery, resulting in the 
saving of many lives, has distinguished an individual 
otherwise obscure and unknown. 

Such an instance is found in the adventure of Miss 
Kate Shelley of Iowa, to whom the Legislature of the 
State awarded a gold medal for bravery. 



KATE SHELLEY. 



285 



As it was growing dark on July 6, 1881, a severe 
storm caused the Des Aloines river to rise six feet in a 
single hour. Looking from her window, which com- 
manded a view of the Honey Creek railroad bridge, this 
girl of fifteen saw through the darkness a locomotive 
headlight and a moment later saw it drop. ''Oh, mother, 
the freight train has gone down," she exclaimed, and 
quickly springing up, she, with trembling hand, reached 
for the lantern, and, knowing that the express train would 
soon be due, rushed out into the darkness and in a pitiless 
storm undertook the perilous task of giving due warning. 
Finding that the flood was already far above all paths 
and roadways, she climbed up the steep bluff to the track, 
tearing her clothing and lacerating her flesh as she pro- 
ceeded. A part of the bridge still remained, and as she 
swung her lantern and called out at the top of her voice, 
there was a faint answer from the engineer below, who 
had crawled up on some of the broken timbers. She was 
urged by him to proceed at once to the nearest station, to 
warn the express train of the fall of the bridge. 

To reach the station it was necessary for her to cross 
the high trestle bridge across the Des Moines river, about 
500 feet in length. As she puts her foot upon it the wind 
blows out her lantern and she cannot see a foot ahead, 
save when the dazzling lightning outlines the bridge and 
the seething waters beneath. This child, with a heroine's 
heart, drops down upon her knees, and though her cour- 
age almost fails, she crawls from tie to tie across the 
trestle. At last she has reached the shore, and quickly 
flying to the station, her story is told in breathless haste, 
and she falls unconscious to the floor; but the warning 
was given in time to stop the train and scores of precious 
lives, carried by the train, soon learned of the heroine 
whose courage had saved them from a watery grave. 



286 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER, 




MRS. AXX H. JUDSON. 



Since the beginning of modern missions there has 
never been a more trying experience of a missionary than 
that of Ann Hassehine Judson ; and no story of mission- 
ary Hfe is more painfully af¥ecting than the record of her 
short career. She was naturally of a quick, energetic 
disposition, apt to learn, sensitive and extremely sympa- 
thetic, developing into womanhood in the cheerful sur- 
roundings of a Xew England home. 

In 1812 she was married to Adoniram Judson. and 
sailed to India. Shortly after arriving at Calcutta they 
were ordered to leave the country. They went first to 
the Isle of France, but were obliged to fly to Rangoon, 
where they at once began the study of the language. For 
three years they worked here in quietness, and though 
their life was lonely, hard and trying, yet when com- 



MRS. ANN H. JUDSON. 



287 



pared with the years that followed, this period seemed 
altogether delightful. In 1822 she returned to America, 
where she remained one year, writing and speaking in 
behalf of Burma so effectually that a great impulse was 
given to the work. Soon after her return they were or- 
dered to Ava, and in ^lay, 1824, the storm burst upon 
them when Great Britain declared war against Burma. 
Rangoon was taken and Air. Judson was thrown into 
prison. I\Irs. Judson herself was placed under guard. 

The horrors of that time have no parallel in the his- 
tory of modern missions. For more than eighteen 
months Mrs. Judson was alone, unprotected, in the midst 
of an infuriated people, unable at times to keep track of 
her husband, so suddenly would he be taken from place 
to place. She made long journeys to find him, and when 
successful, would go to the prison once or twice a day, 
to carry food and medicine. 

The English army was at last successful. Their 
troubles ceased and they removed to Amherst, where 
they were under British protection. 

But such a life was too hard for a delicate woman, 
though ever so heroic. The long strain had so ex- 
hausted Airs. Judson's strength that she slowly sank to 
her death. Even the comfort of her husband's presence 
was denied her at the last. 

She died October 24, 1826, and was buried at Am- 
herst, with civil and military honors, and a monument 
from America marks the grave. 

''Her name will be remembered in Burma when the 
pagodas of Gautama shall have fallen: when the spires of 
Christian temples shall gleam along the Irrawaddy and 
when the 'Golden City' shall have lifted up her gates to 
let the King of Glory in." The story of the thirteen years 
she spent in Burma has moved the hearts of scores of 
American women to give the best of their lives to the 
service which she chose above all others. 



288 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




GRACE WHITE. 

Of those who have given their Hves to Africa, per- 
haps none have made greater sacrifices and more beauti- 
fully exhibited the spirit of Christian heroism than Grace 
White. At our request. Rev. C. Nusbaum, of Winfield, 
Kansas, has kindly furnished us with the following 
sketch. 

Miss Grace W'hite was born in 1863. She came with 
her parents to southwestern Kansas when about thirteen 
years of age. From childhood she was original in 
thought and careful in all her plans. During her school 
days her associates were among the unfortunate and 
friendless pupils, for whom she always had a word of 
cheer and comfort. She was a Christian from early child- 
hood, but in her twenty-fifth year she was led to know 
that it was her privilege to receive the gift of the Holy 
Spirit and power, and to the great joy of her heart she 
entered into this experience. The victory , was complete, 



GRACE WHITE. 



289 



and in that hour she dedicated herself tO' God and his 
service. She was a strong friend of the colored people 
and was not long in deciding to go to the more neglected 
in Africa. When thoroughly convinced that God was 
calling her to that dark land of death, she hastily made 
all arrangements and started, in 1891, for her field of 
labor, a mission station in Liberia. When she arrived 
she was met by a number of the tribe to whom she was 
sent, who threatened to kill her at once. She calmly told • 
them that she was sent of God to do them and their chil- 
dren good, and she proposed to stay there until God told 
her to leave. For fifteen months she labored alone at 
Barraka station, when her sister Anna cam'e to help her; 
through darkness and disappointment, danger and death, 
they worked together, until Anna was compelled to re- 
turn home for a rest. 

W'ith firm faith in God, Grace remained at her post. 
She knew that God was ushering in a better day, which 
she was permitted to see before her translation. She had 
an intense love for her aged parents and her home in this 
country. Once . when recovering from a severe attack 
of fever, and conscious of her surroundings, her eyes 
caught sight of a bunch of pansies. She said, with tears, 
''How they make me think of mother." She desired to 
make her home visit in 1896, but as there was no one to 
take her place, she refused to take the rest she needed. 

On the return of her sister Anna, Grace was urged to 
return to America, for a short time, at least; but she could 
not be induced to come, feeling that God wanted her 
there. In December, 1896, she took the fever, and in a 
short time God took her to himself and her eternal re- 
ward. Thus another martyr is added to the great long 
list who are among the redeemed and blood washed. 
Truly her works will follow her, and many thousands will 
rise up in the eternities to call her blessed. 
19 



290 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




MRS. AMANDA SMITH. 
Formerly a Slave. 

When the Lord makes up his jewels his choice will 
not be confined to the white race alone. The truth of 
this statement is exemplified in Amanda Smith, who was 
born in slavery, at Long Green, ]\Iaryland, in 1837. She 
was redeemed by her father, Samuel Berry. She had no 
worldly wealth, but a legacy that was far better, parents 
and a grandmother who were truly pious. Her mother, 
inheriting the spirit of prayer, was a woman of great faith 
and moral courage ; and these qualities descended to the 
third generation. 

In 1859 she was married to J. H. Smith, a local dea- 
con of the 'M. E. Church, who died ten years later; of her 
five children, only one daughter survives, and as she is 
married, ]\Irs. Smith is free from family claims. She 
dates her conversion to March 17, 1856, and from that 



MRS. AMANDA SMITH. 291 

clav to this has never doubted that she was for.s^iven. 
Twelve vears later, under a sermon by Rev. J. S. Inskip, 
she received a wonderful baptism of the Holy Spirit, and 
ever after was an exponent of that ''full salvation" 
preached bv John \A>sley, of whom she is a faithful dis- 
ciple. The Lord soon afterward led her into public life, 
and her power as an evangelist became so widely known 
and appreciated that she received many invitations in all 
directions. Some friends proposed a trip to . England. 

From England she went to India, where she found 
open doors everywhere. Then she spent ten years in 
Africa, greatly aiding Bishop Taylor in his self-support- 
ing mission work. 

Failing health compelled her to return to England, 
and in 1891 she again came to America, where she is en- 
gaged in evangelistic work and in raising funds for a 
home for colored orphan children in Chicago. 

Frances Willard says: 'T first saw Amanda Smith 
at Ocean Grove, and she seemed to me almost as unique 
a character as 'Sojourner Truth.' I shall never forget 
one Sunday evening, nor the surf meeting, of which she 
was the principal figure. Anywhere from ten to thirty 
thousand people were seated on the sand, and all felt the 
grandeur of the scene. Everybody wanted something 
said about it, but no speaker's voice could reach them all. 
Suddenly Amanda Smith's wonderful voice rang out in 
a vibrant contralto, deep and so swelling that all could 
hear as she sang : 

"There's a wideness in God's mercy 
Like tlie wideness of the sea, 
There's a kindness in his justice 
That is more than liberty." 

"As she went through that wonderful hymn, tears 
came into women's eyes, and men pulled their hats down 
farther over their faces. It was a grand hour, and 
Amanda had put the final touch to it, which she could 
not have done, except that she had a grand soul." 



292 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




LUCRETIA MOTT. 

One of the rarest examples of womanhood that 
America has yet produced, not merely as a reformer, but 
in every attribute of character and action, is Lucretia 
Mott. Born January 3, 1793, among the quiet scenes 
of Nantucket, she grew to girlhood with habits of neat- 
ness and helpfulness in the home. 

When thirteen years old she was sent to a Friends 
boarding school and in two years became an assistant 
teacher. Another teacher was young James Alott, the 
son of an old Quaker family from Long Island. The 
two, the young man and the maiden, he having just 
passed his twentieth year and she her eighteenth, in the 
beauty of their youth loved and wedded. 

The unison of spirit and action which made their 
married life one long harmony was their oneness in devo- 



LUCiRETIA MOTT. 



293 



tion to what they beUeved to be right and their sympa- 
thy with the oppressed everywhere. 

AA'hile hving a Hfe of devotion to her husband and 
children she, at the age of twenty-five, touched the key- 
note of her great fame w'hen. feehng called to a more 
public life of devotion to duty, she entered the ministry 
in the Society of Friends, among wdiom she was known 
as a consecrated, self-forgetting preacher of the truth. 

In early youth her soul was moved by the cruel 
injustice of negro slavery. Xot only did she plead in 
their behalf, but every act of her life made her moral force 
felt wherever she was known. \Mlliam Lloyd Garrison 
was dragged through the streets of Boston at the peril 
of his life; Lovejoy w^as murdered at Alton; but througli- 
out these years Lucretia ^lott addressed women's meet- 
ings while stones and brickbats were flying through the 
windows. Amid pelting eggs, amid howling stone- 
throwing mobs she stood unmoved, as gentle and un- 
flinching as when knitting by her own fireside. In 1840, 
a World's Anti-Slavery Convention was called in Lon- 
don, and women from Xew York, Boston and Phila- 
delphia were delegates, among these w^as Lucretia Mott. 

On their arrival they were not admitted, because 
they were women. This brought the woman question 
into prominence and in this she engaged heart and hand. 

Lucretia IMott, who passed away in 1880, may 
have been equaled by many in the development of 
special faculties, but rarely has a woman lived who has 
embodied in herself so many intellectual and moral 
qualities perfectly balanced. 

"A nature so many-sided, a hum.anity so deeply 
veined, an intelligence so universal and varied cannot 
be sounded or measured by mere words. Her life, 
though vanished from human sight, still shines on — a 
planet whose unfailing light streams down the cen- 
turies, while it reaches upward to other and distant 
worlds," 



294 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




MARY LYON. 



"There is nothing in the universe that I fear, but 
that I shall not know all my duty, or shall fail to do it." 

This memorable utterance by Alary Lyon, in the 
last instruction she gave to her school, gives a glimpse 
of the vast power for good which God can give to one 
woman for the benefit of the human race in all coming 
time. 

\Yhen in the second decade of this century, this 
remarkable educator of women, began her career as 
teacher, she received as her compensation seventy-five 
cents per week, with board. Her services as teacher 
soon began to be eagerly sought and whenever she 
could obtain sufficient means, she would go to some 
place and receive instruction on those subjects in which 
she found herself deficient. After several years of alter- 
nate teaching and studying, she went to attend Rev. 



MARY LYON. 



295 



loseph Emerson's school in Byfield, Massachusetts, and 
she ever regarded her connection with this school as 
an important era in her life. Several years later she 
was invited to assist ^liss Grant in the Adams Female 
Academy, at Londonderry, and cooperated with her per- 
sonally when the school was remoa^ed to Ipswich. It 
was at this place that her plans for the establishment 
of a permanent female seminary occupied miich of her 
thought and where so much energy- was given to the 
ways and means of accomplishing this object. 

In 1836 she wrote to a friend: "I have lived to see 
the time ^^'hen a body of gentlemen have ventured to 
lay the corner-stone of an edifice which will be an institu- 
tion for the education of women. The work will not 
stop with this institution. The enterprise miay have to 
struggle through embarrassment for years, but its in- 
fluence will be felt." This incident dates the beginning 
of the famous i\Iount Holyoke Seminary. Its first year 
proved tlie wisdom of ]\Iiss Lyon's careful plans, and 
the first anniversary was a season replete with interest. 
Wonder, praise and gratitude filled her heart with a 
flood of emotions, such as ordinary minds cannot con- 
ceive. Her greatest joy was that of seeing those 
intrusted to her care walking in truth and peace. Thus 
the foundations of her institution so longed for were 
laid with prayers and tears, and its topstone with joy 
and praise to Him who had bade her build a school to 
his great name. 

God accepted the service of her hands and blessed 
both it and her abundantly. Great was Miss Lyon's 
influence in training up active and efficient women; many 
drew from her light and fire that will never go out. 
She was enabled to shape the moral course of her pupils 
for both worlds. 

On March 5, 1849, ^Lss Lyon passed away. Over 
her grave a beautiful monument of white marble was 
elected. 



296 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




MARIA MITCHELL, 
was born of only ordinary capacity but of 
extraordinary persistency," said Maria Mitchell in later 
years, after that "persistency" had made her one of the 
most distinguished lady astronomers the world ever 
knew. Born of Quaker parents August i, 1818, on the 
Island of Nantucket, ]\Iaria early ■ exhibited an aptitude 
for books. While still her father's pupil, at the age 
of eleven, she became his assistant teacher. The par- 
ents did not consider her brighter than any of their other 
nine children. But she soon showed a special liking 
for mathematics. In her intelligent home she learned 
"to use her hands helpfully and skillfully, to dress taste- 
fully, but simply, and to live contentedly a plain, frugal 
life, brightened by study, affection and society. At six- 
teen she left school, and at eighteen she was appointed 
librarian of the Nantucket Public Library. Her island 
home was peculiarly adapted to the study of the sea 



MARIA MITCHELL. 



297 



and sky, and her duties as librarian being light, she had 
much time to spend in study. Here she spent twenty 
years at a salary of one hundred dollars per annum. 

The IMitchell family possessed an excellent tele- 
scope, which was frequently used by ]\Iaria. She was 
as fond of astronomy as of mathematics, and excelled 
in both. 

One evening in October, 1847, she was gazing 
through the telescope, she suddenly saw a comet which 
before was unknown. She obtained its ascension and 
declination and then told her father, who wrote to Pro- 
fessor Bond of Cambridge, informing him of Maria's 
discovery and inquiring if the comet had been noticed 
before this time. The Professor replied that it had not. 
Sixteen years before this time Frederick Vl. of Denmark 
had offered a gold medal to the person who should 
first discover a telescopic comet. This medal, there- 
fore, was awarded to ^liss ^Mitchell. 

In 1857 she went abroad, visiting the greatest ob- 
servatories in Europe. During her absence her friends 
fitted up an observatory for her use. 

When the observatory of \'assar College was com- 
pleted a position as teacher of astronomy was given to 
Maria Mitchell. In her schoolroom the blackboard and 
teacher's desk occupied one side of the room. The 
remaining three were occupied by seats with tables 
placed in front of them. 

As a teacher Miss Mitchell was abrupt, yet kind. 
She had little patience with the superficial and conceited, 
but to every student that did her best she was always 
ready to give assistance and encouragement. 

Miss Mitchell remained at A'assar College for 
twenty years, resigning- her position in 1888. She died 
at Lynn, Massachusetts, on the twent}'-eighth of June, 
1889, at the age of seventy-one. 



298 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 

" May He who taught the morning stars to sing, 
Aye keep my chalice pure and fresh and sweet, 

And grant? me so with loving hand to bring 
Refreshment to His weary ones, to meet 

Their thirst with water from God's music spring; 
And bearing thus to pour it at His feet."' 

So sang one who wrote many heavenly hymns that 
people love to sing, and who through years of suffering 
maintained such depths of joy, such implicit trust in 
God, as to be a beacon on a hilltop to hundreds oi others 
following that way. 

One of her teachers says: 'That which imprinted the 
stamp of nobility upon her whole being, and influenced 
all her opinions, was her true piety and the deep rev- 
erence she had for her Lord and Savior, whose example 
penetrated her whole life." From her father she inher- 
ited a decided musical talent. She wrote songs and 
hynm tunes adapted to her own words and those of 



FRANCES RIDLEY HAVERGAL. 



299 



Others, trained missionary and voluntary choirs, assisted 
in the editing- of a hymnal, prepared Havergal's Psalm- 
ody for the press and contributed to its contents. 

She will, however, be best and longest known by 
her poems. In them almost every phase of Christian 
life and growth is revealed. Their power to soothe, to 
soften, to inspire and to uplift is acknowledged by many 
loving readers, who give them a high place in the reli- 
gious poetry of the age. 

Her poetic talent gradually developed and in i860 
some of her poems appeared in the columns of a paper. 
She continued adding grace and strength of poetic skill 
and fervor, and later "The Thoughts of God" and ''Loyal 
Responses" were given to the public, and more than 
once their author had the privilege of hearing her own 
hymns and tunes sung to the praise of God. 

In her widely known hymns, "Songs in the Night," 
''Consecration Hymn," "Tell it out among the Heathen," 
some of them written while prostrated by illness, she 
left an immortal legacy. But her greatest achievement, 
her best legacy, was her character and life. 

"She was always busy, yet seldom hurried; she 
'redeemed the time' yet 'lived without carefulness;' she 
was ever at work for the public weal and pleasure, yet 
never failed to respond to every private claim, every 
individual demand for aid and sympathy." 

She often suffered from protracted and severe at- 
tacks of illness, and near the close of 1878 a cold, result- 
ing from exposisire at an outdoor meeting, developed 
painful and alarming symptoms. As the disease pro- 
gressed, and she was told that it would prove fatal, she 
answered, "If I am really going home, it is too good to be 
true." As the end drew nigh, she tried to sing; but 
after one sweet high note, her voice failed, and on June 
3, 1879, England's sweet singer passed away. 



300 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




FANNIE J. CROSBY. 

Who that knows anything of what hfe means has 
not been inspired to renewed efforts, to increased cour- 
age and faith by the sacred hymns and tunes of child- 
hood days? The power oi song, how great! How 
large a part of real gospel teaching in our hymns! 

Of all the living sacred hymn writers, none 
are so well known, none have touched the 
hearts of the Am.erican people as the happy 
hearted Fannie J. Crosby. And yet it is probably 
known to comparatively few that this noted woman has 
done all her work without beholding pthe beauties of 
nature around her, for she is totally blind. Born March 
24, 1820, an affection of the eyes demanded medical 
treatment when she w^as only six weeks old. The reme- 
dies applied proved of no avail, and her sense of sight 
entirely disappeared. It is said that at the age of eight 
she began her career of song \viih the following: 



FANNIE CROSBY. 



301 



" Oh, what a happy soul am I! 

Although I cannot see. 
I am resolved that in this world 

Contented I will be. 
How many blessings I enjoy 

That other people don't ! " 
To weep and sigh because I'm blind 

I cannot and I won't." 

Early in life she entered the New York Institu- 
tion for the Blind, where she remained as a pupil and 
teacher, for more than forty years. In her early years 
she committed the four books of the Old Testament and 
also the four Gospels. Although nearly eighty years 
old, she preserves all the sprightliness of her youth, and a 
visitor to her home in Brooklyn finds one of the most 
cheerful and happy persons. 

Her hymns are loved and sung, not only where the 
English language is spoken, but they are found trans- 
lated into many other languages. Some of the best 
known are: "Blessed Assurance," "Safe in the Arms of 
Jesus," "Rescue the Perishing,'' ''Every Day and 
Hour," "Saved by Grace," "I Am Thine, O Lord/' "Re- 
deemed," "Rock in the Desert." "Wonderful Saviour." 
"Rivers of Love." These might be increased into 
hundreds. "Safe in the Arms of Jesus" is her favorite, 
because it has comforted so many broken hearted ones. 
She wrote it because all her path is darkness, and her 
only safety is in the arms of Jesus. Bishop Hanning- 
ton's last entry in his journal shows that when he was 
about to be murdered, he sang this hymn, and laughed 
at the very agony of his situation. 

Fannie Crosby declares that her blindness has been 
a blessing to her, for in this way she has been a blessing 
to multitudes. She says: "If I had not been deprived 
of sight I should never have received so good an educa- 
tion, nor have cultivated so fine a memory, nor have 
been able to do good to so many people." 



302 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




MRS. BELLA COOKE. 

" I do not ask that God shall always make my pathway light; 
I only pray that He will hold my hand throughout the night." 

So sings one who, through long years of greatest 
agony, maintains a firm faith in God, whose zeal for the 
Master probably won hundreds to the foot of the cross, 
and whose submission to the divine will led many 
Christians to a firmer trust in God. To a large number 
Bella Cooke's sick-bed became a place of blessing, her 
sick-chamber a haven of rest. 

This consecrated woman was born in Hull, Eng- 
land, in 1821. At the age of twenty she was married to 
Mr. Cooke, a devoted Christian man, and several years 
later she and her family came to America. Soon after 
their arrival, her husband died, of cholera, and she was 
left a poor widow with several small cliildren. 

Notwithstanding her feeble health, she made stren- 
uous efforts to support her helpless family, but her 



MRS. BELLA COOKE. 



303 



health gradually failed, until she was entirely prostrated, 
and for the last forty-two years she has been absolutely 
bed-ridden, with scarcely five minutes in any day of free- 
dom from acute pain, though it varies much in intensity. 
Added to this is her absolute dependence, as she often, 
during these years, did not know how food and fuel for 
the morrow would be provided. 

It is not in language to describe the sufferings of 
Bella Cooke during this long period, yet to say that she 
has been resigned and patient would present but a small 
part of the truth. Depressing as her infirmities, have 
been, and severely trying as it has been to be debarred 
from life's activities and enjoyments, yet she has, even in 
times of utmost physical prostration, exhibited a serene 
and holy resignation. 

Again and again has she been brought down to the 
gates of death, and her friends have looked in tearful 
silence for the coming of the chariot and horsemen. 
Her cheerful disposition takes note only of the bright 
hours of life, and buries the cloudy ones in oblivion. 

Bella Cooke is never unemployed. Many benevo- 
lent institutions have been profited by the skillful work 
of her fingers. Many hours of pain are spent in earnest 
work for the Master, her rich personal experience in 
divine things and marvelous insight of character quali- 
fying her to enter into the feelings of the suffering and 
sad, and to give them, not only temporal aid, but also 
spiritual comfort. 

The sunny face of the presiding genius of her 
little room in New York City, on the narrow bed of spot- 
less white, bears through hours of keenest suffering, 
through weeks and months of severest trial, a patient, 
beautiful smile of trust and content. 

How true that the sweetest songs of the nightingale 
are warbled only in darkness, and the clearest notes of 
thankfulness and joy are heard only in the midnight of 
affliction. 



304 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




QUEEN LOUISE OF PRUSSIA. 

''The arrival of the angeUc princess spreads over 
these days a noble splendor. All hearts go out to meet 
her, and her grace and goodness leave no one unblessed." 

These words of the poet Fouque express some- 
thing of the esteem and admiration felt by people, both 
high and low, for the lovely Queen Louise, of Prussia, 
daughter of Prince Charles and Princess Frederica. 

Christmas Eve, 1793. witnessed the marriage oi 
Louise to Frederick William, the crown prince. She 
vvas then seventeen, with a fine complexion, large blue 
eyes, light hair, with a frank, natural, graceful manner. 

Frederick William and Louise went at once to their 
own palace, and there a happy married life began. 

In the year 1797, at the death of Frederick William 
IT, the crown prince became King Frederick \\ illiam, 
and Louise, the joy of every circle, became queen. She 
was, however, not allowed to pass through her short life 



QU'EEiN LOUISE OF PRUSSIA. 



305 



without great sorrow, much anxiety, and intense suffer- 
ing. 

The war waged by Napoleon against Prussia, es- 
pecially the battles of Jena Auerstadt, which in a day 
prostrated the Prussian power, compelled the queen and 
her children to flee from the palace. She says: "Des- 
tiny has destroyed in one day a structure, in the erection 
of which the great men of two centuries have labored." 

In her journeyings for safety, the queen at one 
time, occupied a room whose windows were broken, and 
the snow blew on the bed. But she was full of trust and 
courage. She made heroic efforts to secure better terms 
for her beloved country. Referring to an interview with 
Napoleon, she says, 'T wept; I implored in the name 
of love and of humanity in the name of our misfortunes 
and the laws w^hich govern the world." 

The demands of Napoleon upon the country at this 
time were more than could be met. He said, 'Tf the 
king cannot pay, nothing remains to be done but to 
surrender Silesia." Queen Louise wrote humbly to 
Napoleon, pleading for a modification in Prussia's inter- 
ests, but his unsympathetic heart could not be moved. 

In 1809, after enduring great privations, and making 
many sacrifices, the royal family again reentered Berlin. 
The people w^re full of joy, and to commemorate this 
event placed in the Thiergarten a beautiful vase, which 
is yearly filled with flowers, on the queen's birthday. 

The following summer. Queen Louise, who was the 
mother of ten children, and had often suffered from ill- 
ness and prostration, probably feeling that the end was 
drawing near, went with the family to the country castle, 
and there the loved and honored Queen of Prussia 
passed away. 

Shortly before her death, she wrote to her father: 
"Only truth and justice are strong and secure. There- 
fore I do not believe that the Emperor Napoleon Bona- 
parte is firm and safe on his glittering throne." 

20 



306 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




CATHARINE BOOTH. 



"The woman who would serve her generation accord- 
ing to the will of God must make moral and intellectual 
culture the chief business of life. Doing this she will 
rise to the true dignity of her nature, and find herself 
possessed of a w^ondrous capacity for turning the duties, 
joys and sorrows of domestic life to the highest ad- 
vantage, both to herself and to all those within the 
sphere of her influence.'* 

These words were penned in an autograph album by 
Catharine Booth, at twenty-six, who in after life more 
fully than any other woman demonstrated the truth of 
the statement. 

Catharine Mumford Booth was born in 1829 and re- 
ceived a careful training and a good education. Her 
mother's special care in training her child was not in 
vain. Catharine says, 'The longer I live the more I ap- 
preciate my mother's character." Under such careful 



CATHARINE BOOTH. 



307 



training she early became interested in church and mis- 
sion work. At twenty-six she married WiUiam Booth, 
and for seven years aided him greatly in his work as 
minister of the Methodist Church. He was several 
times required to lay aside his work for a short time on 
account of ill health, but she. equal to the occasion, took 
up his w^ork and regularly filled his appointments, preach- 
ing to the satisfaction of all. Believing themselves called 
to the evangelistic work, they asked that they sustain such 
relation to their conference. But then, as now, the nar- 
row^ and ecclesiastical spirit of those in authority over- 
came the higher, nobler and more worthy spirit of the 
extension of the cause without so much respect to men 
and measures, and Mr. Booth's request was not granted. 

Believing themselves called of God to the work, they 
did not hesitate in this crisis, but began work wherever 
there were openings. The work developed very rapidly, 
and in a few years resulted in the Salvation Army, now 
of w^orld-wide fame. This organization has been the 
means of rescuing many thousands that the churches, in 
their present effort and with present means, could never 
have reached. The Salvation Army would never have 
reached such a state of usefulness but for the clear- 
sighted and consecrated wife of William Booth. She 
may well be called a co-founder with him in the work. 
Frail and in poor health for many years, she, with ability 
seeming more than natural, entered into the work, 
preaching, teaching and ever ready to counsel and plan 
for larger and more extended results. She engaged 
energetically in temperance and other reform work. Be- 
sides all this she carefully trained eight children and was 
permitted to see them all engaged in Army work before 
her death. Catharine Booth, mother of the Salvation 
x\rmy, passed peacefully away, after an exceedingly use- 
ful life, "more than conqueror," October 4, 1890. 



308 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




CLARA BARTON. 



Distinction and fame have come to many women who 
have never learned what self-denial and sacrifice mean. 
Some of these may have become famous, because of the 
power to write entertainingly; others may be able to 
charm audiences by their eloquence; but a still higher 
order of marked womanhood is found in those heroic 
ones who forego many of the pleasures of life in order to 
minister to the spiritual and the physical needs of multi- 
tudes suffering in sin or in bodily pain. Among those 
who have forsaken comforts and pleasures and sacrificed 
even health itself in order to alleviate, by acts of charity 
and kindness, the sufferings of mankind, no name is in- 
scribed higher on memory's tablet, none is held in more 
loving affection by all people and civilized nations, than 
that of Clara Barton. 

Born, raised and educated in New England, at an . 
early age she began teaching school. This occupation 
she successfully followed until trouble arose in the 



CLARA BARTON. 



309 



Patent Office at Washington, through the treachery and 
dishonesty of clerks. Miss Barton was recommended to 
the commissioner as a person that could be trusted. She 
filled a position in that office u-ntil the breaking out of 
the Civil War, when she resigned her position and turned 
her whole attention and strength toward relieving the 
suf¥erings of the woiunded and sick soldiers. The 
Government was not prepared to care properly for these, 
and after a battle they were sometimes left for hours, or 
even days, before their wounds were dressed and proper 
attention given them. 

Miss Barton, by consent of the Governmient, went 
to the front and, with provisions and supplies, soon in- 
augurated a marked improvement in this respect. 
Thousands of soldiers pronounce blessings upon her for 
her deeds of charity. Bullets more than once grazed 
her clothing, but she was never wounded. At the close 
of the war she estabhshed the ''Bureau of Record," so 
valuable to the Government in later years. In 1869 
she went to Europe and became identified with the Red 
Cross movement — a society for the relief of suf¥erings. 
In 1874 she was at the front in the Franco-Prussian War, 
and did much in making the work of the society so 
effectual. From that time she has given her whole at- 
tention to the work of the Red Cross Society. At the 
breaking out of the Armenian massacres in Turkey, the 
United States furnished her with supplies and sent her 
to relieve the persecuted of that nation, that has long 
since deserved to be wiped off of the map of the globe. 

The beginning of 1898 finds ber in Cuba, marshaling 
her forces to reduce the sufferings of poverty and war, by 
distributing supplies where most needed. So determined 
is she to have the principles of the Red Cross adopted 
fully by her people and nation that she has repeatedly 
said, ''Until this work is done I cannot go to heaven." 



"A finger's breadth at hand may mar 
A world of light in heaven afar; 
A mote eclipse a glorious star." 

"He that spares vice wrongs virtue." 

Can one go upon hot coals, and his feet not be burned? — 
Solomon. 

"The bird which is ensnared by one leg is as surely the 
prey of the fowler as if it were seized by both wings." 

\\'hen a yung man beginz tu go down hil evrithing seams 
tu be greezed fur the ockashun. — Josh Billings. 

It may be said with measurable truthfulness that half the 
art of Christian living consists in shunning temptation. — J. G. 
Holland. 



310 



MARRED 
MANHOOD 
and 

WOMANHOOD. 



311 



312 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




RICHARD YATES. 



Character makes man. There is a plane of mere 
achievement, but it cannot be substituted for the higher 
plane of moral and spiritual worth. Marked manhood 
includes not only achievemeait, but also the motives, the 
intentions, the traits of character, that lead to success. 
It is inexcusably wrong to judge men of genius by any 
other than the moral law laid down in the Infallible Word. 
It shows a weakness that is not found in strong men, to 
excuse *'men of genius" and attempt to measure them 
by a standard that looks upon ''outward accomplish- 
ments," but passes silently over the responsibility of 
''inner rectitude." 

"How wretched is the man, with honor crowned, 
Who, having not the one thing needful found, 
Dies, known to all, but to himself unknown!" 

Thtre are undoubtedly many men whose achieve- 
ments have been great, who were remarkable for their 
powers of intellect or skill in other fields, but who have 
never reached the heights of "MARKED MAN- 
HOOD." Their achievements stand, the rather, as mon- 
uments to show what "MARRED MANHOOD" means, 
and what might have been the result had there not been 



RICHARD YATES. 



313 



an "unworthy purpose," a "lack of conscience and re- 
ligious sense." The possibilities of marred manhood are 
inestimable, were there a development oi a full and well- 
rounded character. Great deeds in certain lines cannot 
be made to cover over defects in other respects, but rather 
set them out in bold relief, thus making the contrast all 
the greater. In these and the following pages we note 
the achievements of great men, great in their sphere, and 
yet on the whole marred. We would gladly cover over 
with the mantle of charity their failings, but, while not 
entering into details, we feel impressed that duty re- 
quires a warning to young manhood, lest others make 
the same mistake, and thus blight a record that ought to 
be, and can be, absolutely pure and clean. 

Richard Yates was born in Kentucky in 1818. He 
graduated with honors from Illinois College and at once 
began the practice of law. He took an active interest 
in public affairs and after several terms in the Illinois 
Legislature was elected to Congress. During the War 
of the Rebellion he was the popular governor of Illinois 
and rendered important service in raising troops. In 
1865 he was elected United States Senator for Illinois. His 
natural abilities were great, and for a time he was recog- 
nized as a strong candidate for the presidency. In the 
height of his ambition and popularity he considered him- 
self, as many do, strong enough to resist any tempta- 
tion. He took to drinking-, went rapidly from bad to 
worse, and, sad to say, at the early age of fifty-five filled 
a drunkard's grave. His prospects were brighter than 
ordinary, but the demon drink overcame this strong man 
and carried him to utter ruin. 

"Dick" Yates was a man of noble impulses. Kind, 
sympathetic, gentlemanly, and a power for right and truth 
when not overcome by the appetite for drink. Why 
was he not saved from this awful curse? 



314 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




We somehow have acquired the habit of revering 
the man of wealth without stopping to examine his moral 
makeup. Does not this unjust respect for wealth result 
from an undue desire to acquire wealth ourselves? We 
may have been taught by precepts abundant not to put 
our trust in riches, and yet we are frequently reminded of 
the thrusting aside of these precepts as we hear of the 
many who have sought happiness in the possession of 
gold, and, awakened to the delusion, have brought their 
lives to a sad end. 

Barney Barnato was the son of a London rag-gath- 
erer. At the age of twenty he went to South Africa. 
After a tedious voyage, spent in building air castles and 
dreaming of the possibilities of the new world which he 
was approaching, he landed, and soon met the president 
of the Diamond Diggings. Barnato informed him that 
he was going to the diamond fields and hoped to make a 
fortune. With a look of sympathy the man placed his 



BARNEY BARXATO. 



315 



band on the boy's shoulder in a fatherly manner and 
said; "Go home again, my boy, for I have cleared that 
country of all the gems it contains.'' Barnato, although 
discouraged, concluded to remain. After various vicis- 
situdes he got hold of a gold mine, whith he sold for a 
big price, and then, between gold mines and diamond 
mines, he went on to accumulate a fortune. After some 
years he was reputed the richest man in the world, his 
wealth being estimated *at $300,000,000. He had organ- 
ized mining companies and sold the stock at fabulous 
prices. His place at Piccadilly cost him a million. He 
had no other aim in life than that of lavishingly spending 
his wealth in "fast living." But the end! This man, 
Vvho might have blessed the world Avith his wealth, this 
man to whom the money kings of England made 
obeisance, having compassed his Avildest possible dreams 
of wealth and power, found that life had nothing further 
for him and, like a gambler grown tired of gambling, he, 
on a voyage to the ^ladeira Islands, in 1897, put an end 
to his useless life by jumping overboard. 

Who says that wealth brings happiness? ]\Iany ex- 
amples of similar character could be cited. William 
Randall Roberts, once a millionaire merchant, died in 
1897 as a charity patient in a Xew York hospital. He 
had once been a congressman, once United States min- 
ister to Chili, once proprietor of a famous dry-goods 
house. Edwin Fields, by mining speculation at Tomb- 
stone, Arizona, became the owner of millions in a short 
time. Success, as is often the case, led into extrava- 
gances. The story is quickly told. Reverses came. He 
lost all he had. Wovvy made him sick, he was taken to 
the hospital, then to the poorhouse at Dunning, 111., and 
then to a pauper's grave. These lives are full of im- 
pressiveness. 



316 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




GENERAL GUISEPPE GARIBALDI. 

One of the most eventful careers of modern actors on 
the stage of history closed when Gen. Garibaldi breathed 
his last at his island home at Caprera, on the evening of 
June 2, 1882. Born at Nice, July 4, 1807, he spent his 
boyhood days in following, with his father, a se'afaring 
life. His mother had wished to have him enter the 
priesthood, but early in life he became interested in his 
native country and resolved to spend his energies in 
liberating it from the tyranny of its oppressors. He 
sympathized with all movements that aimed at liberty, 
and in 1833 joined the Italian Liberals in an unsuccessful 
revolution, at Genoa. He was sentenced to death in 
1834 by his government, but escaped to South America, 
where he remained until 1848, when, at the breaking out 
of the revolution in Italy, he offered his services for the 
liberty of his native country. Garibaldi was again ban- 
ished, in 1850, when he came to the United States and 
engaged in the manufacture of candles, on Staten Island, 
until 1854. He then returned to Italy, and in 1856 
bought his farm on the island of Caprera. When the 
war with Austria broke out in 1859 he became the center 



GENERAL GUISEPrE GARIBALDI. 



317 



and the hero of ItaHan Hberty. Clear and cahn in lay- 
ing out his plans, bold, daring and brilliant in executing 
them, always leading his men in person and practicing 
his favorite maxim, ''who wills, goes; who wills not, 
sends," he became the idol of his troops and of his 
countrymen, and the hero of many romantic and thrilling 
tales. One time his soldiers fell back, their ranks had 
been decimated, and he knew it. He simply turned in 
the saddle and cried out, "Soldiers, I am going to die," 
and, without looking back, rode ahead. But gallop, 
gallop; they came, closing in about their leader. Many 
are the tales of sympathy shown by this intrepid and suc- 
cessful leader, so devoted to the redemption of his coun- 
try. He wall long be remembered by the lovers of liberty 
all the world over. But here our commendation must 
cease. Had he died on the field of battle this scarred 
and veteran warrior would have been held in lasting re- 
membrance. Sad to say, he lived to lose the respect of 
good and true men. Chafing under wrongs inflicted on 
him, he became the tool of demagogues and, worse than 
all, the bitter enemy of God and religion. Brought up 
with a love for the church by his pious mother, his indig- 
nation at the treachery to the cause of liberty and hu- 
manity of Pope Pius turned his sentiments of devotion 
to gall, not only against the Church of Rome, but against 
our holy religion itself, till he became an avowed atheist 
and gloried in the name. 

How sad to think of such a self-denying life, spent 
for the good of others, going out in darkness and endless 
night! How different his end, how blessed his memory, 
if instead he had spent his closing years in training up 
the sons of the Italy he had liberated, to labor and to 
pray for the spread of the truth, which alone can make 
it truly free. 



318 



TBAITS OF CHARACTER. 




F. DE LESSEPS. 

We need no Greek or German philosopliy to tell us 
that the stu.dj of man's cliaracter and achievement is an 
inspiring one. We all know from onr own experience 
tiiat the emulation of great deeds is likeh* to follow fa- 
miliarity with them, and on the other hand, the mistakes, 
errors, failings and wrongs of others teach us to shun the 
paths that lead to the same results. 

Ferdinand De Lesseps, born 1805 at A'ersailles, 
France, was educated in Paris. He was early appointed 
consul of the French GoTemment, and served in this 
capacit}' in different countries, tlis noble conduct dur- 
ing the plague in Egypt, which in 1834-35 destroyed one- 
tlaird of the population, gained him special honors. After 
this he serv^ed as minister to Madrid and to Switzerland. 



F. DE LESSEPS. 



319 



On the breaking out of the war at Rome between the 
French and the Itahans, under Garibaldi, he was sent to 
advise the French general. Seeing the condition of 
things, he expressed sympathy with the Italians in their 
struggle under the leadership of Garibaldi. The French 
Government, disavowing his acts, recalled him and let 
loose the French army upon the Romans. Subsequent 
results proved the correctness of De Lesseps' position. 

Out of government employ De Lesseps went to 
Egypt in 1854 and projected the construction of the great 
interoceanic Suez Canal. As is frequently the case, the 
government refused its authorization. The state engi- 
neer condemned the project as chimerical. In the face 
of great opposition and the need oi enormous sums of 
money, De Lesseps deported himself with such tact and 
indomitable energy, by social persuasion, personal inter- 
views with statesmen and capitalists, that public sym- 
pathy, confidence and support secured to him the sup- 
port of the government, and in 1869 the completion of 
the canal was celebrated with imposing ceremonies. 

France has reason to be proud of the man who won 
for her such honor, and the Suez Canal will ever point to 
the enterprise and perseverance of the man who carried 
to a successful end a gigantic scheme, hedged about with 
great difficulties. 

The benefits of this waterway suggested a similar 
canal across the Isthmus of Panama. The Panama 
canal project met with great oppO'sition, and ended not 
only in failure, but led to great scandals. Charges of 
corruption so shook the French republic that disruption 
was for a time threatened. De Lesseps, although eighty- 
eight years old. was sentenced to fine and imprisonment. 
J>Iany prefer to believe that bad men used his honored 
name for selfish purposes, while the commercial world, 
profiting so greatly by his labors, will have cause to re- 
member him gratefully as a benefactor, yet the sad end 
of this man, so great in many respects, leaves a blot upon 
a record magnificent as a whole, but ending in great 
disappointment and disgrace. 



320 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




WILLIAM M. TWEED. 



One of the greatest questions agitating the pubHc 
mind in the countries having a repubhcan form of 
government is the control of the large cities. This ques- 
tion is becoming a serious one in the United States. 
Washington, in his farewell address, foreseeing this ap- 
proaching evil, warned against the dangerous and cor- 
rupting tendency of political combinatio'ns and associa- 
tions. "Tammiany" had already been organized at that 
time. Out of respect for Washington many withdrew. 
Tammany is greater than any party, since it is master of 
parties. In local elections it has become almost im- 
pregnable. The strength of the organization is appar- 
ent when we consider that it has a committee in every 
voting district and a central committee of more than one 
thousand members. The permanency of the organiza- 
tion, now more than a hundred years old, is due largely 
to the sagacity of its leaders. 



WILLIAM M. TWEED. 



321 



Notable among these is William M. Tweed, who, 
although imeducated, entered politics when a very yoinig 
man. He was early known as ''boss" of Tammany, and 
although poor at first, he soon acquired means by a sys- 
tem of "raising" the amount of vouchers for city and 
county work. Thus enormous sums were stolen by the 
"Tammany ring" and divided among the members. The 
power gained by the possession and use of so much money 
prevented its members being brought to justice. Judges 
and legislatures were bribed, bills were passed and de- 
cisions rendered in their favor. The exposure of the 
system of robbery was made by the New York Times in 
1872. Tweed was indicted, convicted and sentenced to 
twelve years' confinement in the penitentiary. After 
serving two years he was released on a legal technicality, 
but was immediately arrested on a civil suit for six 
millions. Being permitted to go out to drive with an 
officer, he made his escape while paying a visit to his 
wife and fled to Spain. He was caught and returned to 
Ludlow Street Jail in 1876, where he died in 1878. 

Here is a man who sought wealth and power and 
who for a time seemed successful in their pursuit. Ap- 
parently he did not propose to obey God or to live for 
a life to come. What he wanted was worldly prosperity. 
He thought he had it. He went to Congress. He gath- 
ered his millions. He controlled the material interests 
of the metropolis of his country. He openly defied pub- 
lic sentiment and courts of justice in the prosecution of 
his plans. He was a brilliant and therefore a dangerous 
example of successful villainy. His life was so marred 
that nothing good was left. As he lay dying in a prison- 
house in the city he once ruled, his confession of bitter 
disappointment was, "My life has been a failure in every- 
thing. There is nothing I am proud of." , 

21 



322 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




CHARLES STEWART PARNELL. 



One of the saddest scenes in life's experiences is that 
of a man who has been strong and powerful in defense of 
the truth, who has with remarkable skill overcome the 
forces of injustice and, as champion of the rights of an 
oppressed people, has succeeded in bringing about meas- 
ures and means that have been a blessing to multitudes — 
to see such a man, apparently the very embodiment of 
noble and manly qualities, overcome and crushed by his 
owm secret sins, after years of unselfish labors for the 
elevation oi others — this, we say, is as sad a scene as can 
be pictured. 

Charles Stewart Parnell was born of an aristocratic 
family in Ireland in 1847. He inherited a large estate and 
received a liberal education. In 1876 he entered Parlia- 
ment and at once became the champion of the Irish cause. 
He displayed remarkable ability, both as a parliamentary 



CHARLES STEWART PAR NELL. 



323 



debater and tactician and as an organizer in the interest 
of the Irish ''home rule" party. With eloquence peculiar 
to himself, a reserve force of self-control, and a powerful 
will, he became the shrewdest and most fully trusted 
leader of the Irish cause in Parliament. His masterful 
control of himself and of his forces won to him the respect 
even of those who differed from him in political meas- 
ures. His greatness became greater in the eyes of the 
world when he of¥ered of his own accord to retire from 
public life, if, in the judgment of Gladstone, this act 
would be helpful to the Irish cause. Many believed him 
to be a man who would live permanently in history. But 
all! the secret sin, so long cherished and so long 
hidden from the public eye, caused him to fall. In 1890 
all the world was shocked at the uncovering of his shame. 
He was asked to resign, but his sin had changed his 
whole nature. Justin McCarthy, who had been his dear- 
est friend, says: "He seemed suddenly to have changed 
his whole nature. We knew him before as a man of 
superb self-restraint, cool, calculating, never carried from 
the moorings of his keen intellect by any waves of pas- 
sion around him. We had now in our midst a man 
seemingly incapable of self-control; a man ready at any 
moment, and on the smallest provocation, to break into 
a very tempest and whirlwind of passion; a man who 
could descend to the most trivial and vulgar personalities, 
v/ho could encourage and even indulge in the most ig- 
noble and humiliating brawls." This gifted man, once 
almost idolized, died in 1891, dishonored, disgraced and 
forsaken by his best and trusted friends. An awful end! 
And yet it was the one sin of lust that ruined him. 



The noblest purpose of a soul is a desire to raise 
itself and others to a higher plane. 



324 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




THE DUKE OF MARLBOROE'GH 



I\Ian is frequently a bundle of strange inconsistencies. 
AMiile on the one hand he exhibits elements and traits 
of character of singular excellency, on the other hand the 
presence of opposite qualities, such as selfish ambition, 
pride, or the inordinate love of money, make life seem a 
great battlefield in which these strangely contrasting ele- 
ments seek to gain the ascendency. The problem of life 
is solved in the triumph or defeat of the nobler qualities 
of manhood. Xo man can serve two masters, neither 
can these opposing elements both control life. The ex- 
cellencies will suppress and root out the meaner qualities, 
or the latter will gain the ascendency and at last destroy 
every vestige of noble, virtuous manhood. 

John Churchill, Duke of ^Marlborough, was without 
dotibt the greatest general and statesman of his time. 
At sixteen, without having received much education, he 
l^ecame a page and then ensign of guards tmder the Duke 
of York. He aided in the relief of Tangiers in Africa 



THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH. 



325 



a^rainst the attacks of the Arabs. After his return to 
England he rose rapidly. His brilliant courage and abil- 
ity in a campaign in Holland won to him even greater 
praise. The lo\'e of military adventure, chivalrous am- 
bition and the love of money burned with equal ardor in 
his bosom. His prosperity was still further secured by 
his marriage with Sarah Jennings, a lady as remarkable 
for her talents and imperious disposition as for her 
beauty. He took an active part in suppressing ]\Ion- 
mouth's rebellion, but on the landing of the Prince of 
Orange he very unscrupulously passed over to the side 
of the invader and was rewarded by being made Earl of 
r\Iarlborough. He aided in subduing Ireland and dis- 
played great ability as a general in campaigns against 
France. At last he fell into disfavor with the King and 
was dismissed from all his offices. He was even thrown 
into the Tower for a short time on the charge of main- 
taining treasonable correspondence with the exiled king. 
The death of William and the accession of Anne to the 
throne, in 1702, made ^larlborough virtually regent, al- 
though he did not have the title. His wife governed the 
Queen and he himself directed the minister, Godolphin. 
His subsequent conquests caused the Queen and Parlia- 
ment to bestow many honors upon him. But reverses 
came. The Queen threw of¥ the tyranny of the Duchess 
of ^larlborough, w^hich had become intolerable. ]\Iarl- 
borough was again deprived of offices, but remained a 
member of Parliament until his death, which occurred 
in 1722. He left an immense fortune and a military fame 
surpassed only by Wellington. 

'^larlborough was without doubt guilty of political 
dissimulation. His inordinate love of money and am- 
bition that knew no bounds, although associated with 
high and noble quahties, left him a name immortalized by 
a genius which at once illustrates and brands it. 



326 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




EDGAR ALLAN POE. 



327 



EDGAR ALLAN POE was born in Baltimore in 
j8ii. When he was four years old his parents both 
died, leaving him utterly destitute. Edgar was adopted 
by Mr. John Allan of Richmond. Here he had all the 
care that wealth could provide. He was soon found to 
be a genius. Mr. Allan endeavored to give him a good 
education. He graduated from the University of Vir- 
ginia in 1826. He then expressed a wish to enter the 
army, and through Mr. Allan's influence obtained a 
cadetship at West Point. Here he grossly neglected his 
duties, drank to excess and was finally dismissed. Mr. 
Allan again received him kindly upon his return to Rich- 
mond, but Poe's conduct compelled him to turn him 
away. Then he turned his attention to literature, and 
wrote for different magazines, and reviews. While he 
was editor of a review in Richmond he married his cousin. 
He then settled in Philadelphia and after some years 
moved to New York. Many of his wonderful stories 
were published during these years. In 1845 his famous 
poem, "The Raven," appeared. In 1848 his wife died, 
and he then returned to Richmond. In 1849 he left 
Richmond by train. He quitted the train at Baltimore 
and some hours after was found in a drunken stupor and 
taken to a hospital, where he died in a few days. 

These facts were undisputed at the time and there 
are men still living who worked in the same office with 
Poe and who have picked him up out of the gutter, too 
drunk to walk, and taken him to his home. Strange that 
some of those charmed by Poe's literary talent would at- 
tempt to paint up his personal habits and make him as- 
sume the garb of purity. Poe was a genius. Let him 
survive in his charming stories and poetry, but justice 
demands that we pass over his personal traits in silence or 
else present them in their reality. Sad that man so 
gifted should dishonor his Maker and die a sot. 



328 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




ROBERT BURNS. LORD BYRON. 



BURNS AND BYRON. 

Allan Cunning-ham says, "Robert Burns and George 
Gordon Byron were great, though not equal, heirs of 
fame. The fortunes of their birth were widely dissimilar, 
yet in their passions and in their genius they approached 
a closer resemblance; their careers were short and glori- 
ous, and they both perished in the summer of life, and in 
all the splendor of a reputation more likely to increase than 
diminish. One was a peasant and the other was a peer, 
but nature is a great leveler, and makes amends for the 
injuries of fortune by the richness of her benefactions; the 
genius of Burns raised him to a level with the nobles of 
the land; by nature, if not by birth, he was the peer of 
Byron. They rose by the force of their genius, and they 
fell by the strength of their passions. They both sang 
of the emotions of their own hearts, with a vehemence 
and an originality which few have equaled and none 
surely have surpassed." 

Robert Burns, the great lyric poet of Scotland, was 
born in 1759. Although poor, his father gave him a 



BURNS AND BYRO<N. 



329 



oQod education. He began making verse at sixteen, 
while following the plow. His fame spread rapidly, un- 
til he associated with all that was eminent in letters, rank 
and fashion. Wherever he went the wine glass was 
liberally forced into his hands. He poured forth floods 
of song full cf passion and fervor, but the dissolute hab- 
its he had formed dragged hini into poverty. His friends 
forsook him and he died at thirty-seven, broken hearted, 
dissolute and worn out. A moment brought a great 
change. Living, he was forsaken and neglected; dead, a 
great procession swept through the streets and did honor 
to him who had been carried out of a home of poverty, 
where scarce a meal was left to an affectionate wife and 
loving children. 

George Gordon Byron was born in London, January 
22, 1/88. He inherited his profligate and dissolute hab- 
its from his father, who squandered his fortune in de- 
bauch and at the gambling table. His mother was a very 
passionate woman, often quarreling with her son, after 
separation from her husband. Byron's first volume of 
poems was published at eighteen, and was severely criti- 
cised. This sarcasm stung Byron into a poet. For a 
time he became the most popular poet, but his revelries 
and excesses made him very unpopular as an individual. 
He separated from his wife and went to Italy, where 
misery and indignation stimulated him to activity, but 
his genius was tainted by his indulgences and debauchery. 
He died in 1824 in Greece. His body was taken to Eng- 
land, but denied a resting-place in Westminster Abbey. 

Burns and Byron! Each a genius gifted far above 
the ordinary. What might they not have become? One 
is overcome by the enchanted wine cup and the other 
sinks into the lowest depths of profligacy. Both came 
to an untimely end. 



330 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




STEPHEN GIRARD. 



This eccentric and remarkable man was a native of 
pTance and early went to sea. After spending some time 
at sea he entered into business in Philadelphia. Then 
a,2:ain he followed the profession of sea captain, and after- 
ward carried on a highly lucrative commerce to the West 
Indies. As shipowner his mind was bent on one object — 
the accumulation of riches. His ambition was to be 
rich, not that he might enjoy riches, but that he might 
die a millionaire. It is scarcely probable that he 
possessed the faculty of enjoying himself, for his whole 
appearance was that of intense business application. His 
biographer says that Girard was unquestionably a crusty, 
plodding, penurious man, singularly repulsive in appear- 
ance and awkward and vulgar in his address. It was with 
the greatest difficulty that he could express himself in 
broken English. Sympathy, feeling, pity, friendship, 
love or commiseration were emotions that never ruffled 



STEPHEtN GIRARD. 



331 



the equanimity of his mind to such a degree as to relax 
his energy of accumulation or impair the mass of money 
that rose like mountains round about him. Friends, re- 
lations, old companions, confidential agents, or the gen- 
eral mass of mankind, might sicken and die around him 
and he would not part with his money to relieve or to 
v^ave one among them. For the living he cared nothing. 
His ambition was to be remembered and respected after 
death. The good opinion of his fellow men he treated 
with contempt and would sacrifice it at any moment for a 
paltry sum. He paid the smallest wages for the largest 
amount of work, and when possible took advantage to 
cut down a workman's wages, even though that work- 
man had been in his employ for years. 

He succeeded in amassing wealth, and soon attained 
a position where he could become proprietor of a public 
bank. This added greatly to his means of securing 
wealth, so that a single venture more than once netted 
him a half million. He died worth more than ten mil- 
lions. At his death he was mourned by no one, the event 
being only one of curiosity how old Girard had disposed 
of his property. His enormous wealth was all given for 
charitable purposes, principally in Philadelphia. The 
largest part was given for the support of "Girard Col- 
lege," for which his will provided. He died at eighty- 
two, unmourned, unloved by all. 

There is absolutely nothing in Girard's life worthy 
of hearty commendation, except his disinterested conduct 
during the yellow fever crisis, when this wealthy mer- 
chant offered his services to nurse the sick. Unwilling 
to give a dollar to save his friend, he risked his life to 
alleviate the sufferings of strangers. A more remark- 
able compound of mean selfishness and noble philan- 
throphy it is difficult to conceive of, much less to find. 
Girard was mean, tyrannous, ignorant and utterly desti- 
tute of religious sentiment. His wealth he left not for 
the good it might do, but that he might be remembered. 



332 



TRAITS OF CIIARxVCTER. 




GEORGE ELIOT. 



Mary Ann Evans was born in 1819, in Warwick- 
shire, in England. Her father was a carpenter and after- 
ward became a land agent. Little is known of her child- 
hood days. Her mother, a model of industry and punctu- 
ality as a housekeeper, died when Alary was but fifteen. 
At this early age she took upon herself the cares of the 
household, and it is positively affirmed that to her dying 
day one o^f her hands remained larger than the other 
from making and shaping with it so many pounds and 
pats of butter and cheese. She was from childhood an 
intense lover of books. Besides acquiring skill in labor- 
ing with patient cheerfulness at homely tasks, she studied 
science, language, philosophy and mathematics. She 
was well versed in Greek, Latin, Italian, French and Ger- 
man, and was a skilled player on the piano at twenty. 



(tEORGE ELIOT. 



333 



At twenty-live she had become a remarkably well edu- 
cated woman, of great conversational powers. The sim- 
ple faith of her childhood that had led her to active work 
in church and Sunday-school in early years, had by this 
time undergone a remarkable change. Her first literary 
work was a translation of Straues' Life of Jesus. At 
thirtv she became assistant editor of the Westminster Re- 
view. Soon after beo-innin.s: her work as a writer of 
fiction she assumed the pseudonym, "George Eliot." by 
which name she is best known. Her "Scenes of Clerical 
Life" were received with general favor. For her next 
work, "Adam Bede," she received four thousand dollars. 
Five thousand copies were sold the first two weeks. 
Other volumes that were received with great favor are: 
"The WA\ on the Floss," "Felix Holt." "Daniel De- 
ronda," "Silas Marner'" and ''Romola." L'pon the last- 
named she spent a year and a half, and received for the 
manuscript thirty-five thousand dollars. 

George Eliot was a great woman, great in mind, 
having a generous, sympathetic heart. Her natural 
abilities were such that she ought to have exhibited to 
the world a superior example of marked womanhood, but 
when once faith becomes "liberal" in its tendency the re- 
sult is very uncertain. Miss Evans became acquainted 
with a ^Ir. Lewes, of whom Dr. Lord remarks, "with 
whom (his legal wife being still alive) he lived in open 
defiance of the seventh commandment and the social 
customs of England for twenty years." We are well 
aware that a different construction is put upon this mat- 
ter by many writers, some even exonerating her from all 
culpabilitv. yet when the best possible is said of her, the 
fact remains that her character is not full rounded, as it 
ought to be. That scar, that blot, that marred what 
might ha\ e been a beautiful whole, remains, even though 
the hand of sympathy would hide it from view. 



334 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




QUEEN ELIZABETH. 
Queen Elizabeth, who ascended the throne of Eng- 
land at twenty-five, and who for forty-five years, through 
internal division and strife and foreign intrigues, held her 
place of power and the respect and good will of her peo- 
ple in general, to the end — this queen, her history, her 
reign, her motives, have been the subject of more writers 
than a.ny other woman. And perhaps nowhere do such 
diversified and conflicting opinions meet as in the esti- 
mates oi the character of this great monarch of England. 
While one praises her for bringing peace and proisperity 
to a nation divided and heavily in debt, another finds 
nothing good in her whatever and marks her reign as 
arbitrary, tyrannical and despotic. One praises her for 
establishing Protestantism as the religion of the land 
against so many threatening obstacles; another blames 
her for her hatred and persecution of the Puritans. One 
severely criticises her for the cruel and repulsive deed 
of signing the death warrant of a woman, Mary Queen of 
Scots; another sees even in this act the salvation of both 
sovereign and nation. 



QUEEN ELIZABETH. 



335 



It cannot be denied that Queen Elizabeth ascended 
the throne in critical times. Dr. Lord says, "Let it be 
borne in mind that she began her rule in perplexities, 
anxieties and embarrassments. The crown was encum- 
bered with debts; the nobles were ambitious and factious; 
the people were poor, dispirited, unimportant and dis- 
tracted by the claims of two hostile religions. Only one 
bishop in the whole realm was found willing to crown 
her." In addition to all this most of the European coun- 
tries were hostile to England. It is but just to say that 
amid these many opposing and often conflicting interests 
the sagacity of its ruler often prevented internal disrup- 
tions and foreign invasions. There was a rapid develop- 
ment of the industries of the nation, both in power and 
wealth. Economy was practiced and encouraged and the 
wealth of the nation was doubled during her reign. 

And yet while she exhibited some marked traits of 
character, her life as a whole was unquestionably greatly 
marred by her coquetry, her proud, irritable and petulant 
disposition. At the close of an eventful life this queen of 
"A land of beauty 
Fondled by the circling sea," 

whose banner floats in pride from many a castled crag, is 
made to say, "Millions for a moment of time." Gladly 
would she have surrendered pomp, power, and empire for 
the sweet innocency of childhood; for 

'A conscience free from sin!" 

One writer says of her age: "It was an age of 
political lying, but in the profusion and recklessness of 
her lies Elizabeth stood without a peer in Christendom." 

And thus, with her spirit tossed upon a sea of doubt, 
restless and shuddering, this great queen surrenders her 
earthly throne, and stands undistinguished amid a crowd 
of spirits, a trembling subject at the bar of the King of 
kings! 



336 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




CATHARINE II OF RUSSIA. 



A fair-haired, well-foTmed and good-humored girl, 
remarkable for her intelligence and her native dignity, 
Catharine of Russia, then Princess Sophia of Zerbst, 
passed her happy youth chiefly at the little town oi Stet- 
tin, She was early instructed in the Lutheran faith. 
Through her mother's influence she v/as chosen by Eliza- 
beth of Russia as the wife of Peter III, after having ac- 
cepted the faith of the Greek Church. She soon quar- 
relled with her husband, and each of them lived a life of 
unrestrained vice. Upon the death of Elizabeth Peter 
III ascended the Russian throne, but his profligacy had 
already estranged many of his subjects. When it was 
found that he intended to divorce Catharine and pro- 
nounce her only son, Paul, illegitimate, Catharine, with 
the aid of able and intriguing leaders, succeeded one 
night in reaching St. Petersburg and having herself de- 
clared empress of all the Russias. This was the more 



CATHARINE II OF RUSSIA. 



337 



easily accomplished, as by her feigned loyalty to Russia 
she had already won the hearts of the people. Peter III 
was at the same time, in his palace eighteen miles away, 
plunged in dissipation. Catharine, having gained the 
ascendency, there was nothing left to the dethroned czar 
but to implore her mercy. But the relentless conspira- 
tors knew no pity. The chief of these was /Vlexey Orlof¥. 
At the instigation, no doubt, of the empress, this savage 
became the mAirderer of Peter III. Her unholy ambi- 
tion condemned to sorrow, dis-ease and death a countless 
host of vigorous men and helpless women and children. 

Meanwhile Catharine gave her attention to improv- 
ing Russia. St. Petersburg she found a collection of 
wooden hovels, and left it a city of granite and marble. 
She dictated a code of laws, full of wisdom, benevolence 
and learning, and greatly improved the conditions of the 
peasant class. She gave herself to literature and gained 
the affections of her people by founding schools and char- 
itable institutions, and in every possible way alleviated 
the sufferings of the poor. She planned many internal 
improvem.ents ; built canals, roads and bridges; enforced 
justice; recommended morality; was assiduous in her 
religious observances, and filled all Europe with the fame 
of her liberality and beneficence. For thirty-four years 
she reigned with supreme dominion and unbounded self- 
indulgence. Ambition for herself Vs'as her ruling mo- 
tive. She crushed the feeble pretenders to her throne 
with relentless hand. At her death, Paul, the new em- 
peror, had the coffin of Peter III placed beside hers, with 
a lover's knot uniting them, on which was the motto, 
'''Divided in fife, united in death." She was the mightiest 
monarch of her time, but history knows her only as a 
\\oman devoid of principle, shameless in vice and gov- 
erned in all her actions by sensuality and selfish ambi- 
tions. 

22 



338 



TRAITS OP CHARACTER. 




SARAH, DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH. 

Sarah Jennin,2:s, Duchess of Marlborough, was, with- 
out doubt, a great woman. She exerted a wider and 
greater influence than any queen that ever graced Eng- 
land's throne. Born in 1660, she early came into the 
service of the Duchess of York, and became the chosen 
and most intimate friend of the Princess Anne, over 
whom, after her accession to the throne, she exercised the 
influence due to a superior and exceedingly active mind. 
Her power was almost boundless ; the Whig ministry de- 
pended upon her support and she disposed of places and 
offices at her pleasure, and is even said to have accumu- 
lated money by the sale of them. 

While power and political corruption are sometimes 
sought to overcome still greater public evils, the Duchess 
of Marlborough had no higher aim in all her selfish and 
avaricious designs than that of enhancing the fortunes of 
her own family. Sarah Jennings, although proud, 



SARAH. DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH. .339 



haug^hty and overbearino-, was said to be ''striking in her 
appearance, with a clear complexion, regular features, 
majestic figure and beautiful hair. She had great power 
of conversation, was frank, outspoken and amusing, but 
without much tact." She became the inseparable com- 
panion of An.ne, who was inordinately attached to her. 
l^pon the accession of Anne as queen, the Duchess of 
Marlborough became the real ruler o>f the land. With 
her daughters married to great statesmen and nobles, her 
husband the greatest general of his age, and herself con- 
fidential adviser of the queen, she held a position oi re- 
markable power and influence. But pride comes before 
a fall. Her elevation but increased her insolent, acri- 
monious and selfish spirit. Queen Anne was not slow in 
noticing the change and for a long time bore her friend's 
intolerant pride. The duchess was no longer the grace- 
ful attendant of former years, and by her carelessness and 
insolence greatly offended the queen. At last her rule 
beca'me intolerable to the queen, and her cousin, whom 
she herself had brought to court, supplanted her. On 
her dismissal her wrath was terrible, her ungovernable 
temper gave vent in cursing and swearing. She long 
survived her husband, living in complete retirement, and 
died in 1744, leaving a fortune of £3,000,000 sterling. 

The life of Sarah Jennings, although one of position, 
wealth and honor, is sad in the extreme. In her old age 
she had no intimate friends. Her conduct had even 
alienated all of her children. Her life exhibits, as prob- 
ably no other, the vanity of worldly ambition. With all 
her possessions, happiness was not her lot. This is se- 
cured only where the nobler virtues of true womanhood 
exist. 



340 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




MADAME DE MAINTENON. 

For more than thirty years the subject of this sketch, 
a woman extraordinarily gifted and possessed of many 
noble and excellent qualities, exerted a remarkable in- 
fluence on the destinies of France. 

Madame de Maintenon was born in a prison at 
Niort, where her father was imprisoned. Upon his re- 
lease he took his wife and daughter to the West Indies, 
where he died. The mother, returning to France with 
her dau,^-hter, soon died, leaving the daughter to the 
care of relatives, who educated her in a convent, and, after 
an obstinate resistance on her part, succeeded in con- 
verting: her to the Roman Catholic faith, when she was 
fourteen ^-ears old. It is said that she became dependent 
upon one of her rich relatives and "the future wife of 
Louis XIV could be seen on a morning assisting the 
coachman to groom the horses." 



MADAME DE MAINTENON. 



341 



Her one aim and desire seemed to be to shine in 
brilliant society. At sixteen she married Scarron, a 
popular poet, and lived in the midst of the refined and in- 
tellectual society that frequented the house of the poet. 
On his death she was reduced to poverty, but soon after 
was intrusted with the education of the two sons of 
Madame de Montespan, mistress of Louis XIV. She 
soon fascinated the kino- by her beauty and charming and 
winning" manners. After the death of the queen Louis 
privately married her. As the wife of Louis XIV her 
power became unbounded. The object for which she had 
sou!2;ht for vears was attained, and her ambition was 
o-ratified. She exerted a greater influence on the for- 
tunes of France than any other woman before or after 
her. "No woman ever ruled with more absolute sway, 
from Queen Esther to Madame de Pompadour, than did 
she. She was the real ruler of the land." She exerted 
her g^reat infl_uence in favor of morality and education. 
She discouraged gossip and dissipation. She even un- 
dertook the great task of reforming the morals of the 
court and of the king. Whatever tended to develop 
the intellect or imiprove the morals oif the people re- 
ceived her earnest support. 

And yet, with all her wisdom and virtue, she had 
many defects of character. Mainly through her influ- 
ence, the edict which Henry IV had granted was revoked, 
which brought on one of the most cruel persecutions of 
history, by which France lost hundreds of thousands of 
her best people. 

''Religious bigotry is eternally odious to enlight- 
ened reason. It left an indelible stain on the character 
of the most brilliant and gifted woman of her times, and 
makes us forget her virtues. With all her excellence she 
Sfoes down in history as a cold and intolerant woman 
whom we cannot love." 



There is one thin^ in the wide universe which is 
really valuable, and that is Character. By this I mean 
a confidence in the bosoms of those who know you, that 
you have the power, the capacity, and the disposition to 
confer happiness on others. Other things may be 
deemed fortuitous: they may come and go; but character 
is that which lives and abides, and is admired long after 
its possessor has left the earth, the theater on which it 
was displayed. — John Todd. 



342 



SIDELIGHTS 



343 



344 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




A MARKED CONTRAST. 

It is sometimes surprising what great changes occur 
in the appearances of a child, even in a few years. Prob- 
ably nowhere are these changes so marked as in insti- 
tutions in our large cities where the neglected and home- 
less children are gathered and taught and trained for 
usefulness and good citizenship. The largest institu- 
tion of its kind is that originated by Dr. Thomas J. Bar- 
nardo of England. For many years this institution has 
been carrying on a great work. Thousands of children 
have been rescued from a life of shame, vagrancy or prof- 
ligacy, and, after receiving a Christian training, have 
been sent out into the world, many of them becoming 
honored and respected citizens. 

The accompanying illustrations show a little girl 
when she was first received in the Home, and then her 
greatly changed and improved appearance in later years, 
after leaving the institution. 



A .ArAP.KED COXTRAST. 



345 



Emma Grav AA'clch. fourteen years old, gave her 
storv before a London police court before she was ac- 
cepted bv Dr. Barnardo. She could not remember any- 
ihinsr about her own mother, but was compelled by her 
stepmother to sleep in the cellar and was never supplied 
with proper food. Four times she had been burned with 
a hot poker, often beaten with the leg of a chair, and once 
hot tea was thrown over her. ^lost of these castigations 
were o:iven for taking; food when she was hungry or for 
incurring: the wrath of her inhuman parents by some 
slig;ht offense. For five vears she had been subjected to 
these cruelties. Once her father kicked her in the mouih 
and knocked out one of her teeth. ]\Irs. Welch once 
placed her hand on a boiler and broke a knuckle with 
the blunt side of a chopper. AAdien rescued she wore 
nothing but an old thin jacket and a piece of coarse sack- 
ing:,, fastened round her loins. It is gratifying to know 
that the stepmother was sentenced to penal servitude for 
life for doing: her stepdaughter grievous bodily harm with 
intent to kill, while the father was sentenced to penal 
servitude for seven vears. 

But the change. What could be expected of her? 
Given to theft, falsehood and a violent temper, she was 
burdensome to those having charge of her. But slowly 
her mind recovered from the effect of the treatment she 
had received from her tormentors. Her mind gathered 
strength daily, and she began to take a real interest in her 
work. Her progress was marked. Her desire to do well 
overcame her impulses to temper, and she was eventually 
placed in the household of a lady who took an interest in 
her. Emma, now bright, happy and co;itented and re- 
markably changed through the religious influences under 
which she had come, showed a grateful spirit toward those 
who had rescued her. Surely this was a remarkable 
transformation. These experiences are sometimes re- 
peated bv unselfish rescue workers in many places. 



346 



TRAITS OE^ CHARACTER. 




BARNEY'S DOUBLE FLAG.* 

A GOLDEN RULE PARABLE. 
*These illustrations and parable are copyrighted by the Golden Rule Comp- 
any and are here used by permission. 

It was war time, and Barney was in trouble. He 
owned a nice little cottage, which was directly between 
the two opposino- armies. 

Now Barney cared nothing for his country, and 
nothing for the country of the enemy, but he cared a 
great deal for his trim little cottage; and so, when the 
great iron balls began to hurtle through the air and snap 
off trees like pipe-stems, Barney set his wits to work to 
preserve the house, which he evidently must leave. 

And this is the way he did it: 

He had two flags, one of his own land and one of 
the enemy's. These two flags were of the sam,e size. 
Placing them back to back, Barney pasted them together, 
running wires through top and bottom, and craftily bend- 
ing these so that the flags had quite a natural air of wav- 
ing in the breeze. Then he fixed the contrivance on a 
pole on top of his cottage, the whole being made so firm 
that no wind would shift it. 



BARNEY'S DOTJBLE FLAG. 



347 




Of co'urse Barney took care that each flag should 
face the army that would best appreciate it. Then, with 
a chuckle, Barney left his house to its fate. 

There was a great battle, and Barney's house was 
carefully respected by the gunners of either army, each 
holding- it to belong: to a friend, and momentarily expect- 
ing it to be blown to pieces by the artillery opposite. 
The issues of the battle, however, were undecided that 
day, and in the night, as it chanced, the armies so shifted 
their ground as to bring each in full view of the opposite 
side of Barney's judicious flag. 

And then there was an indignant canno'uading! Such 
an iron hail beat upon the cottage that in ten minute's 
it was completely riddled with shot from both sides, and 
both sides afterward pillaged it; so that when Barney 
returned he found matters just twice as bad as they would 
have been had he honestly chosen sides and raised a sin- 
cere banner. 

Moral. — To pretend to be on both sides of a dispute 
is a very dangerous matter, usually resulting in making 
both sides your foes. — Caleb Cobweb. 



REFORMING MEN. 



349 



REFORMING MEN. 

Reform work is needed everywhere. It is needed 
especially amono: our young men, where the forces of 
evil make such awful ravas^es. This is true in city and 
country. The temptations to evil habits besiege young 
manhood on every side. The desire to appear well leads 
to habits of extravagfance, and these, in turn, let loose the 
whole train of impurity in thought, of overstepping the 
laws of chastity and purity, of the use of tobacco, of strong 
drink, the clubroom, the gambling den, the brothel, lead- 
ing: to the bottomless pit. 

Reform work, we say, is certainly very much needed 
among young men, but when a young lady assumes to do 
that w^ork, in a way suggested by the accompanying illus- 
tration, there can be no more dangerous undertaking. It 
has been tried too often and always with the same sad re- 
sults. The more effectual way to reform young men is for 
young; ladies everywhere to refuse to receive the atten- 
tion of young men who are in any way tainted with these 
evils. The high standard of virtue that men require of 
young- ladies is not too higili for mien. Their lives should 
be as pure as those of women. ''Purity of life is the pal- 
ladium of earthly happiness and the chief corner-stone of 
society." 

Let the young; woman assert her independence and 
have absolutely nothing: to do with the young man whose 
life is not pure. In doing: this she will be able to do the 
young man the greatest kindness, and may save herself 
from a life of misery and degradation. Take warning, 
young- lady, from the many who have tried in this way to 
reform young- men. Require of him to whom you pledge 
your all that which you give — a pure, clean life. 

Not what you could do if things were different, but 
wliat } cu do with things in hand, shows the stuff you're 
made of. 



WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE? 



351 



WHICH WILL YOU CHOOSE? 

"Of two evils choose the less," is an oft repeated 
saying. And this is applied more frequently in the work 
of temperance than in any other line. It is a subterfuge 
and an excuse for defending one's action in voting for 
high license or any other remedy except prohibition. 
This motto of choosing between evils is not in accord 
with the highest morals and the law of Him who is our 
pattern. According to the moral law, good and evil have 
no affinity; neither should a man, a real man of nerve and 
principle, have anything to do w^itli evil. The rather 
let our motto be, "Of two evils choose neither," for what 
fellowship has light with darkness, or good with evil. If 
the forces of sobriety, temperance and prohibition are 
ever to succeed, the battle must be fought on this higher 
and nobler plane. The enemy of strong drink will never 
be defeated on his own grounds. He chuckles to see 
the half-hearted, cringing, vote-seeking- politician sug- 
gesting a choice O'f evils. 

Princely manhood rises above these miasms of dan- 
ger and death and never chooses between evils. In this 
battle, as in all others, there is no neutral ground. The 
choice is between right and wrong, between the home 
and the saloon, between the purity in thought and Hfe 
and everything that degrades and debauches. There can 
be no middle ground. While we may assent to measures 
that lead to the objective point, yet in no sense can true 
manhood assent to evil. Burn this truth into the man- 
hood of our nation, and politics will be purified of its ap- 
parent mixture of good and evil. The forces of right 
and truth united against any evil will speedily overthrow 
it. This is as true of intemperance as of any other evil. 

Never hope to hold a neutral position tow^ard an 
evil. That which you do not positively discourage, you 
encourag^e.— Ram's Horn. 



352 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER, 




THE ATTACK. 



A vicious goat one day found his way into forbidden 
ground and came to a garden swing that had the head of 
a ram carved on the end. The goat, mistaking the object 
for a hve animal, asserted his natural proclivities and 
prepared for an attack. 

There are those who are always on the lookout for 
something against which they can butt. Nine-tenths or 
the evils, wrongs and opposing forces are products of 
their own mind. But all the same they are ready without 
invitation to begin the attack. This goat-like spirit ex- 
hibits itself whenever their wishes are crossed or even 
not consulted.. 



THE RESULT. 



353 




THE RESULT. 



x\s the swing moved from the goat, the animal was 
the more encouraged, but receding, it came with such 
force that the result vras not favorable to the poor goat. 
Picking itself up. it limped away, humbled and wiser for 
its experience. Even from a dumb animal valuable les- 
sons may be learned. The result in one case is not 
unlike the experience in the other. The attack upon 
imaginary wrongs may prove to be a boomerang and 
many recoil upon the originator. 

Be sure you are right and then go ahead, is a good 
motto to observe. Stand invincibly for the truth and 
against wrong, but be sure that it is not a "swing" that 
invites your opposition. 
23 



354 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




LABOR WITHOUT PROFIT. 

Here is a man working hard at a pump. He is in 
no sense an idler. Industry characterizes his every ac- 
tion. He is doing his very best to fill the tub with water, 
so that it may overflow at the profit's spout at the top. 
He succeeds in raising the water, for he has a good pump 
and there is an abundance of water in the well. And yet 
with all his effort he cannot succeed in filling that tub. 
Not a drop reaches the profit's spout. The reason is 
very evident. You say the tub leaks too much to make 
his efforts a success. Mend the tub, close up the large 
cracks in some way and the tub will soon be full. 

How representative of many men. They are ear- 
nest, energetic, industrious, and work hard to accumulate 
sufiicient to live comfortably and not depend upon others. 



LABOR WITHOUT PROFIT. 



355 



But they never succeed in getting ahead. The fault is 
not in that they do not make money, for they have good 
pumps and the wells are full of water. They succeed m 
raising the water. That is, they are engaged in lucra- 
tive employment, in business that gives valuable returns ; 
but in spite of all this, in spite of their efforts to get ahead, 
they are never able to make ends meet. They make an 
honest effort, but fail to realize where the leak is, and 
hence never reach the profit line. 

One of the reasons, and probably the reason in a 
majority of such cases, is the large expense account. 
The desire to live a little above one's neighbor, the desire 
to have a good standing in society and in the community, 
often persuades an increase of expenses beyond that war- 
ranted by the income. Of course the increase is gradual, 
and not apparent until it may be too late. Loose busi- 
ness methods and bad management may also often ac- 
count for the waste which prevents profits. 

In all such cases the remedy is apparent. It is not 
in an increase of profits, for that will but lead to a greater 
waste, but it consists in cutting down expenses and look- 
ing to a better management. ''Live within your income" 
is an old and well-worn motto, and yet it cannot be im- 
proved upon. Hard times generally' result from not 
heeding this motto. It seems to be an exceedingly dif- 
ficult thing to cut down expenses and to deny one's self 
many of the luxuries when once they are indulged in. 
Pump away, my friend, keep pumping; but first of all see 
that your tub has no leaks. 

It is not what comes into a man's hands that enriches 
him, ]mt what he saves from slipping through them. 



.356 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




BOUND BY HABITS. 

Little James delighted to play with the calf that was 
tied to the chestnut tree in the meadow. He fovmd that 
by running after it and calling out he was able to frighten 
it. The calf ran faster than he could, and little James, 
being nearer the tree than the calf, soon found that the 
rope was being wound around him and drawing him 
tightly up against the tree. It was fun for a time, but the 
frightened calf continued to run around the tree in the 
same direction. At last matters became more serious. 
James began to cry and the innocent calf, not knowing 
enough to unwind the rope, assisted James in making 
noise, each seeming to vie with the other. In this laugh- 
able condition they were found by wiser heads, who soon, 
released them. 

Life is a tissue oi habits. How, like the little boy, 
we playfully allow bad habits to wind round us until we 
are held in their grasp. Habits of doing, being, saying; 
habits that overcome us in our best efforts. Habits of 
eating, of sleeping, of working or of not working. 



BOUND BY HABITS. 



357 



Of bad habits, the most common one is that of mak- 
ing excuses. Excuses for tardiness, for inciviUty, for 
lack of industry, for any lack in any particular. The 
habit of excuse-making- obliterates all distinction be- 
tween doing and not doing. It sears the conscience and 
breaks down the distinctions between truth and falsehood. 
The reason given in the excuse at last becomes simply a 
subterfuge to hide one's failings. The habit of making 
excuses leads from apology to deception, and at last to 
downright lying. 

Some persons excuse the formation of bad habits in 
youth, by saying that there is a time to sow wild oats. 
Thomas Hughes says, 'The only thing to do with wild 
oats is to put them into the hottest part of the fire and get 
them burned to dust. If you sow them, no matter in 
what ground, up they will come, with long, tough roots 
and luxuriant stalks and leaves. You, and nobody else, 
will have to reap them." 

In contrast with bad, rude, or even indifTerent habits, 
how refreshing and inspiring are the refined, elevating, 
courteous and unassuming habits of a true genteman. 
In appearance, having the grace of personal neatness; 
refined at the table, polite, affable and unohstrusive in 
all relations with others; cultivating a low, gentle voice, 
a quiet, winning manner and a general bearing that at- 
tracts. Honesty of purpose and purity of life must, of 
course, lie at the foundation of gentlemanly habits. 
Without these there is the seeming to be, without the 
reality. A pure life is the strength of man, as it is the 
beauty of woman. 



I hev often noticed that the man who would have 
done such wonderful things ef he had been thare never 
gits thare. — Josh Billings. 



358 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




AXIS OF THE EARTH. 

It is all very well for a man to believe that the earth 
rotates on its axis ; but when he becomes thoroughly con- 
vinced that he himself is the axis, the less you have to 
do w^th him the better. This may seem to be a strange 
statement, but investigation will show that there are more 
young men of this class than is generally supposed. 
Many young men seem to think that because they are 
on the stage of action, the world ought to spin faster on 
its axis. They see nothing of so great importance as 



AXIS OF THE EARTH. 



359 



their own greatness. Someone has suggested an excel- 
lent remedy for removing the self-conceit from these 
aspiring ones. Wherever it is closely followed there 
ought to be a marked improvement if not a perfect cure. 
It is this : Go down to a running brook or river. Stoop 
over and thrust a needle into the running water. With- 
draw it and mark the hole or opening it has made in the 
water. As the flowing water covers all traces of the 
needle, so time rolls on and covers over the place you 
occupy, and you are forgotten. 

In a large mill it is not the noise of the wheels nor 
the hum of voices, nor the bustle and stir that counts, 
but the grist. So in life, it is not what we seem to be in 
our own eyes, nor the amount of commotion and attrac- 
tion that w"e are able to arouse, but the real, downright 
effort that ends in results, wdiich counts. Xot what we 
are, but what we are able to perform: what we do — this 
alone is of lasting benefit. 

There are many societies and associations that look 
like great manufactories, but the actual outcome of all 
their work could be stored in a four by six closet. There 
are many men who think that they would be sadly missed; 
but in the vicissitudes of life, the real benefit they are to 
mankind is exceedingly small. It might be well to pay 
more attention to others, and less to self, in such cases. 

Xo man is safe from the temptation of thinking him- 
self an axis around v hich at least a part of the w^orld ro- 
tates: but he may, with motives of true manhood, rise 
above all these and be what he seems to be. 

A Short Cut. — Two negro boys wxre quarreling. 
One was exhausting his vocabulary in abusive epithets. 
The other calmly said: "Are you troo?" "Yes!" 
''You ain't got nuf^in more to say?" "Xo.'' "Well, all 
dem tings what you called me. you is." 



360 



TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




AX IRISH OBSTRUCTIONIST. 

The above is a scene in Ireland. The boy and his 
sisters are eagerly exerting all their power to remove the 
obstruction, but the brute will go neither forward nor 
backward. With all the pushing and pulling it simply is 
determined to hold the right of way. 

Xot all obstructionists are quadrupeds. Not at all 
unlike the above situation are we sometimes required, 



AX IRISH OBSTRUCTIONIST. 



361 



in a more serious and more momentous sense, to face 
obstructions that may mean much in determining the 
weh'are of a community and of individuals as well. 

Obstructionists, did you sa} ? Yes, they are of va- 
rious aspects, depending very much upon conditions and 
surroundings. There is the obstructionist in the home, 
who impedes the progress of comfort, of enlightenment, 
of intelligence, of civility, decorum and a general regard 
ior the happiness of others, or of the moral and religious 
development of the members of the family. This may be 
shown in carelessness, in a lack of comprehension, in a 
love for hoarding money, or in an innate depravity of 
soul. 

The public obstructionist always believes in doing 
things in the old way, and has no eye to modern inven- 
tions and improvement. He is always on the "object- 
ing" side of things and cannot be convinced that he is 
wrong. In politics he always votes his party ticket: the 
party can never be wrong, for was it not his party that 
saved the country? Xo change of circumstance or place 
can change his mind. 

Then there is the obstructionist in the church, who, 
by his ideas, hinders the effectiveness of any effort to ad- 
vance the interests and make more powerful the influ- 
ence of true godliness. 

Obstructionists! How they spring up where least 
expected, and always, as in the illustration, plant them- 
selves right in the middle of the road. Forward they will 
not go, and backward they cannot be forced. Some- 
times it is best, as in a railroad wreck, to build a track 
around them, or even over them. As a rule they are a 
hopeless class. 

"To err is human." That is sound doctrine: nor 
is it hard to live up to. — Ram's Horn. 



1 



362 TRAITS OF CHARACTER. 




Two boys, bent on amusement, with probably a 
tinge of mischief in their natures, came to a large pump 
used in filling reservoirs or tanks. Dirty and thirsty, 
they concluded to contrive a plan by which they might 
wash their faces and quench their thirst. At last one, 
who was more far-seeing than the other, suggested that 

I 



1 



GETTING ENOUGH. 



363 



they in turn climb up, and while one was pumping, the 
other was to place his mouth under the spout and quench 
his thirst. The one boy was very willing to let his com- 
panion drink first, for he all the while saw that a joke 
might be played. His companion crawled up and sig- 
naled his readiness. The boy at the handle used his 
opportunity and pumped with a will. The force of so 
large a quantity of water, rushing right into the face of 
the poor boy, did not have the expected result. He had 
all he could do to keep from falling down, and with all 
the water, w^as not able to quench his thirst. As can be 
seen, his companion enjoyed the scene to his satisfaction ; 
but poor Ben got enough, and more than enough, and 
still was thirsty. 

In life's varied experiences there are those who, in 
seeking to satisfy their wants, are so overwhelmed with 
an abundance that the satisfaction and pleasure imagined 
is never realized. Let the thing sought for be money, 
pleasure, or the gratification of any other desire. How 
often is the man who makes wealth his objective point 
in life, when he is about to realize his desired object, over- 
helmed with that which he seeks, and all satisfaction or 
enjoyment is gone. Like the boy at the pump, he has 
all he can do to keep from falling, and does not in any 
measure succeed in satisfying his desires. The man who 
is controlled by his appetites and passions, does not real- 
ize his danger until, overwhelmed by the forces let loose 
upon him, he finds that the tide of evil in no way or man- 
ner satisfies the longings of the human heart. The boy 
at the pump should have taken the proper method, and 
used a cup. The "cup of salvation" will always satisfy 
and give to manhood a force and power not found else- 
where. 



Fame is a vapor, popularity an accident, riches take wings, 
those who cheer to-day will curse to-morrow, only one thing 
endures — character 1 — Horace Greeley. 



364 




HORACE GREELEY, 
Founder of the New York Tribune. 



365 



Let our lives be pure as snowfields, where, our 
footsteps leave a mark but not a stain. — Madame 
Swetchine. 

Character is bounded on the north by sobriety, 
on the east by integrity, on the west by industry, and 
on the south by gentleness. — Frances E. Willard. 



366 



INDEX. 



Above the clouds, 70. 
Achievements of early manhood. 
196. 

Affectation, 19. 
Affection, filial, 60. 
Agassiz, Louis, 174. 
Alexander I., personal character. 
9. 

Alexander the Great, 74. 
Alpine tourists, 70. 
America, 241. 
Archimedes, 13S. 

Arkwright, Richard. 173, 186. 187. 

Arnold, Benedict, 205. 

Arnold, Matthew, on civility, 180. 

Ashamed of his mother, 104. 

As you see it, 170. 

At Eventide, 206. 

Avernus, 54. 

Axis of the earth, 358. 

Bacon, Leonard, 127. 

Bacon's Novum Organum, 207. 

Bacon, Roger, 195. 

Bailey, on humility, 115. 

Bamato, Barney, 314. 

Barney's flag, 340. 

Barton, Clara, 308. 

Beecher, Henry Ward, on Bull 

Run, 164. 
Billings, Josh, 309. 
Boasting, 114. 
Bound by Habits, 356. 
Booth, Mrs. Catharine, 306. 
Bright, John, 197. 
Bryant, William Culleu, on truth, 

24. 

Bryan, W. J., tis opportunity, 47. 
Brooks, Phillips, 109, 163. 
Bruce, Robert, 162. 



Bruno, 195. 

Bulwer, on economy, 168. 

Bunyan, John, 242; his Pilgrim 
Progress, 71. 

Burns, Robert, 328; on pleasure, 
54; on seeing oneself, 82. 

Burnside, General, 164. 

Bushnell, on difllculties, 172. 

Butterworth, Hezekiah, on dan- 
ger, 134; on character, 208. 
-Byron, Lord, 328; his profligacy, 
141. 

Calumny, 26. 

Canning, on character, 8. 
Capital and Labor, 142. 
Carey, Wm., 250. 
Carter, John, 172. 
Catching the wind, 100. 
Catharine IT. of Russia, 336. 
Chameleon, 90. 
Changing guideboards, 128. 
Character, 8, 
Charity, 74. 
Charles XII., 366. 
Chatham, 17. 
Cheerfulness, 182, 
Chesterfield, on applause, 146. 
Childs, George W., 266. 
Christian Soldier and Hero, 68. 
Churchill, John, 324. 
Cicero, on riches, 174. 
Civility, 180. 
Clarke, Ada, 66. 
Clay, Henry, 197. 
Cnidus, 31. 

Coates, woes of drunkenness, 202. 
Cobbett, William, 186. 
Coleridge, 133. 
Colt, Samuel, 197. 



367 



368 



INDEX. 



Complaining. 1.54. 
Concentration. 132. 
Confidence. 98. 

Confucius, on rising after a fall, 
34. 

Cook, Joseph, 142. 261; liis ler- 

tiires, 261. 
Cooke, Mrs. Kella, 302. 
Cooper, Peter, 163, 212. 
Corderoy on Alps. 70. 
CoYetorisnes.s. 148. 
Cowper, on idlers, 56; on haliir. 

108; on civility. 180. 
Criticism, 15-5. 
Cronipton, 194. 
Cromwell, Oliver. 25. 197. 
Crosby, Fannie J.. 200. 
Cunningliam. Allan, nn T^uvns an.] 

Byron. 328. 
Cuyler, T. L.. 121. 
Cyrus, on truth, 19. 

Dana, M. M.. on finding men. S3. 
Danger near coast. 1S4. 
Darling, Grace. 282. 
Davy, Sir Humphrey, on Fara- 
day, 33. 
Deceiving children, 126. 
Defeat in Victory. 166. 
Delusion of Riches. 174. 
Determined Will. 158. 
Diogenes, 32. 

Disraeli. 77, 159, 173; on oppor- 
tunity, 46; on looking up, 58. 

Dodder plant. 130. 

Dodge, William E.. 210. 

Dog in Manger. 72. 

Double Standard, 139. 141. 

Douglas, Stephen A.. 163; on 
civility, 181. 

Douglass, Frederick, 238. 

Dow, Neal, 262; on impossibility, 
17. 

Downward Steps. 80. 
Drum.mond, Henry. 130. 
Duchess of Marlborough, 3:^8. 
Duke of Marlborough. 324. 
Dull boys, 196. 

Eagle ami Humming Bird. 124. 
Economy, 168. 

Economy of Gladstone, 215. 



Eddystone lighthouse. 12. 
Edmond, J., on pleasure. S'.. 
Egotism, 88. 
Eliot, George. 332 
Emerson, on difBculties, 172, 
Erect or stooped. 58. 
Error, 18. 

Evans, Mary Ann. 3.32. 
Example of parents. 67. 

Faith removes fear. 40. 
Falsehood, 19. 

Famous sons of poverty. 1*^6. 
Faraday, Michael. 33. 
Farinelli's egotism, 89. 
Farrar, Canon, on little things, 

124; on sympathy. 144. 
Fault-finding. 42, 1-54. 
Fawcett, Henry. 77. 
Filial affection, 60. 
Filial ingratitude, 62. 
Finding men, 32. 
Fitch, on promptness. 137. 
Flattery, 152. 
Foundations, 84. 

Fox, Charles J.. 197: on success, 
165. 

Franklin, Benjamin. 197; liis suc- 
cess, 9; on economy. 168. 
Fry, Elizabeth, 272. 

Galileo's retraction. 25; enthusi- 
asm, 199. 

Garfield, J. A., 186. 

Garibaldi, 316; his soldiers. 11. 

Garrison, Wm. Lloyd, 234. 

Getting enough, 362. 

Gilder, R. W., on failure, 162. 

Girard, Stephen, 330. 

Gladstone, 197, 214; enthusiasm. 
199; concentration, 133; on criti. 
cism, 27. 

Goethe's saying and talent, 15. 

Goldsmith, 165; on riches, 174. 

Good intentions, 118. 

Good resolutions, 116. 

Gough, J. B., 264; on opportunity, 
47. 

Grant, U, S., 109, 159. 
Greeley, Horace, *163; on charac- 
ter, 363. 



INDEX. 



369 



Gi'osenbaugh. Mrs. Rev. L.. on 

purity, 139. 
Grouchy at Waterloo, 136. 
Gurney, on concentration, 132. 
Gutbrie. on idleness, 57. 

Habits. 108. 

Hale, on commending, 115. 

Hall, John, his character. 9. 

Hall, Robert, 199: oii lying, 127; 
on flattery, 153. 

Harper, Mrs. F. E. W., on op- 
portunity, 47. 

Havergal. Frances Ridley, 29S. 

Having an aim, 36. 

Haydn. 207. 

Henry, Patrick. 163. 

Hermit-crab, 130. 

Herrick, on presumption. 90: on 

defeat, 164. 
Hero-ism, 68. 

Hervey. on applause, 147. 
Hillis. Newell Dwight, on char- 
acter. 4. 

Holland, J. G.. on noble deeds, 78; 

on shunning temptations, 309. 
Holmes, O. W., on coninlaining. 

155. 

Hormer, Francis, success, 10. 

Howard, John, 218. 

Howe, Ellas, 197. 

Hugo, Victor, on faith. 40. 

Humboldt, 207. 

Hunter, on conquering, 159. 

Hutton, Richard, on Cardinal 

Newman, 249. 
Huxley's driver, 37. 
Hypocrisy, 30. 

Impatient of results, 112. 
Impossibilities, 16. 
In deep water, 53. 
Ingratitude, filial, 62. 
Irish nobleman. 122. 
Irish obstructionist, 360. 
Irritability, 43. 

Jackson, Stonewall. 164. 
Jefferson. Thomas. 9. 
Jennings. Sarah. 338. 
Joan of Arc, 198. 
Johnson. Samuel, 165. 
Judson, Mrs. Ann H.. 286. 



Kingsley, Charles, on concentra- 
tion, 133; on enthusiasm, 199. 
Kitto, 77. 

Kneller, egotism, 89. 
Kossuth, Louis, 216. 

Labor without profit, 354. 
Lacon, on calumny, 26. 
Lamb. Charle.s. on drinking, 81. 
Lead, Kindly Light, 248. 
Lesseps, F. De, 318. 
Lifters and Leaners, 188. 
Light, burning and shining. 12. 
Light without heat, 14. 
Lincoln, Abraham. 163. 186: char- 
acter, 9; determination. 159. 
Linn, S. P., on faith, 41. 
Liszt and his pupil, 74. 
Little foxes, 42. 
Little things, 124. 
Living so as to be missed, 190. 
Livingstone, 191. 

Livingstone, Mrs., grave in 
Africa, 190. 

Longfellow, on a hero. 69: on at- 
taining nobility, 34; on grear- 
ness, 193. 

Lord, Dr. John, on Queen Eliza- 
beth, 335. 

Losing the thread, 34. 

Lost at Harbor's Mouth. 204. 

Lovejoy, E. P., 25, 232. 

Lowell, James Russell, on no- 
bility. 4: on truth and false- 
hood, 18. 

Luther, Martin, 244. 

Lyon, Mary, 294. 

Maintenon, Madame De, 340. 

Mann, Horace, 258. 

Marden, on looking upward, 58: 
on character building, 85; on 
will, 158. 

Marked contrast, 344. 

Marked manhood and womau- 
hood, 209. 

Marred manhood and woman- 
hood, 309. 

Mather, Cotton, on rashness, 91. 

Mauritius slave. 62. 

:\lcAuhn-. Jeriw. 254. 

Me('arrhy. Justin, on Parnell. 323. 

McCheyne. Robert. 190. 



370 



INDEX. 



MeCliire, J. G., on light. 13. 
McKeiizie, Alexander. CS. 
Miller, J. R., on opportunity, 47. 
Milton's character, 141. 
Mirabeau, 17; on impossibilities, 
159. 

Mitchell, Maria, 296. 
Montgomery, on "SYinkelried, 103. 
More, Hannah, on flattery. 152. 
Morton, Dr. Wm. T., 194. 
Mother's blessing, 184. 
Mothers of great men, 184. 
Mott, Lucretia, 292. 
Muckrake, 20. 
My papa, 140. 

Napoleon, bis presence, 9; cross- 
ing Alps, 16; egotism, 89; on ap- 
plause, 147; unsympathetic na- 
ture, 305. 

Newman, Cardinal, 248. 

Nightingale, Florence, 280. 

Nnsbaum, Rey. C, sketch of 
Grace White, 288. 

On the borderland of crime, 56. 
Opportunities, improving, 46. 
Overbury, on boasting, 115. 
Overcoming difficulties, 172. 
Overconfidence, 22. 
Overtaken by the tide, 50. 

Parasites, 130. 
Parental influence, 66. 
Parental neglect, 64. 
Parnell, C. S., 322. 
Paton, J. G., 252. 
Patrick's advice, 50. 
Patriotism, 102. 
Peabody, George, 220. 
Peel, Sir Robert, 197. 
Pharos lighthouse. 12. 
Philip, King of Macedon, 36. 
Phillips, Wendell, 228. 
Pitt, William, 196; concentration, 
133. 

Pae, E. A., 326. 
Pope, E. J., 50. 

Pope. Alex, on wealth, 72; on mi>- 

chief, 80. 
Porter, Pres., on levers that niov > 

the world, 4. 
Posthumous praise, 150. 



Power of enthusiasm, 198. 
Preston, Margaret, on praise, 150. 
Presumption, 90. 

Proctor, Adelaide, on charity. 74; 

on true greatness, 192. 
Promptness, 136. 
Providential leadings, 38. 
Pullman. George, his sons, 39. 
Purity, 138. 

Pythagoras, on life, 44. 

Queen Anne and Sarah Jennings, 
328. 

Queen Elizabeth, 334. 

Queen Louise of Prussia, 304. 

Queen Victoria, 181. 

Raleigh, on flattery. 153. 

Ralph, the Rover. 129. 

Reed, General, refused bribe, 11. 

Reforming men, 348. 

Reid, Isaah, 97. 

Repression, 43. 

Resisting temptation, 200, 

Resolutions, 116. 

Reynolds, Joshua, on enthusiasm, 
199. 

Richter, Jean Paul, 44. 
Rollins, Alice, on idleness, 57. 
Rothschilds, 9. 
Ruskin's nobility, 59. 

Safest method, 122. 

Schorb, George, on laziness, .57; 

on ecxjnomy, 168. 
Scott, Sir Walter, on deception, 

126; his enthusiasm, 199. 
Secret of Greatness, 192. 
Seeking promotion, 96. 
Self-will, 43. 
Shadows, 83. 

Shakespeare, on truth, 19; on in- 
gratitude, 62. 
Shelley, Kate. 184. 
Side by Side, 142. 
Sidelights, 343. 
Sill, E. R., on flatttry, 153. 
Slander, 26. 

Smith, Mrs. Amanda, 290. 

Smith, Rev. S. F., 240. 

Smith, Sidney, estimate of 

Horner, 11. 
Socrates, 195, 205 , 207; on riches, 

174. 



INDEX. 



371 



Somerset, Lady Kenry. £78. 
Southey, Caroline B.. on watcli- 

fulness, 64. 
Spencer, on hypocrisy, 31. 
Spreng, S. P., on stature, 59. 
Spurgeon, 176, 197; on hypocrisy, 

31; on catching wind, 100: on 

covetousness, 148; on difflculf.es.' 

172. 

Standing in the gap. 94. 
Starting wrong, 156. 
Stephenson, George, 186, 187. 
Stopping to worry, 160. 
Stowe, Harriet Beecher, 274. 
Struggle for applause, 146. 
Successful life, 176. 
Sumnor, Charles, 195. 226. 
Swift. Dean, on flattery. 152. 
Swing, David, on pleasure, ".5; on 

egotism, S8; on wflls. 110: on 

riches, 175. 
Sympathy, 144. 
Sympathy of Gladstone, 215. 

Talmage, on Sumner, 195. 

Tammany, 320. 

Taylor, James Brainerd, 256. 

Tennyson, Alfred, on nobility. 8. 

Thackeray, 173; on truth. 11. 

The attack, 352. 

The result, 353. 

Thinking and doing, 28. 

Thwing, E. P., on faith. 40; on 

sympathy. 144. 
Todd, John, 341. 
Tolstoi, Count, 208. 
Tramps, 86. 

Trench, Archbishop, on murmur- 
ing, 154. 
Trifles, 178. 

Triumphs of manhood, 140. 
Truth, 10. 

Truth and error. 18. 
Truth vindicated, 24. 
Tupper, on economy, 168. 
Turning winter into .spring, 120. 
Tweed. William M., 320. 
Two ways, 44. 



Unseen influences, 48. 
Upward steps, 78. 

Vain pursuits, 106. 
Vanderbilt's opportunity, 17. 
Victory in defeat, 164. 

Washington, his character, 0, 159; 

on calumny, 27. 
Washington's secretary, 136. 
Watt, James, 222. 
Webster, 197; at Bunker Hill. 16; 

on purity, 141; on Washington, 

174. 

Welch, Emma, 344. 
Wellington, 9, 199. 
Wells, A. R., on worry, 161. 
Wesley, John, 246. 
Wesley, Susanna, 270. 
West, Benjamin, 180, 186, 207. 
Which will you choose? 350. 
Whipple, on impossibility, 17; on 

will, 158. 
White, Grace, 288. 
Whitman, Dr. Marcus, 224. 
Whitney, Eli, 197. 
Whittier, J. G., 230. 
Wilberforce, William, 197, 236. 
Wilcox, Ella Wheeler, on "Pretty 

Soon," 29; on flaws, 74; on lean- 

ers. 188. 

Willard, Frances E.. 276: on Lady 
Henry Somerset, 279: on Amand i 
Smith, 291. 

Will, determined, 158. 

Wills, making, 110. 

Winkelried, Arnold von, statue 
and bravery, 102. 

Winthrop, on Washington, 174. 

Wolf in sheep's clothing, 30. 

Woolley, J. G., on opportunity, -17. 

World's ingratitude, 194. 

Worry, 160. 

Worse than slavery, 202. 

Yates, Richard, 312. 

Young, on ingratitude, 62; on 

boasting, 114. 
Your shadow, 82. 



